#where I played with my cute little virtual pets

[b0nebat]

I'm overworked and so sleepy most the time and I find myself missing flashgames and moshi monsters

[heavenbarnes]

I wanna make it (so badly)

Art Donaldson x Fem Reader

Warnings/Contains: reader is AFAB with she/her pronouns, swearing, inappropriate employer/employee relationship, dry-humping, a lot of heavy petting, implied age gap, effective-infidelity (reader tested, tashi approved), oral sex (f!receiving), art is a bit of a pervert and mega-pathetic (endearing), references to religion (worship).

Word Count: 5.8k

i white knuckled the steering wheel on the way home from this film thinking about art donaldson- this is, essentially, an ode to that

Youth tennis lessons, $20/h, call for details

Finding work was hard, keeping work was harder.

Cleaning, baby-sitting, pet-sitting, pet-walking. There was virtually nothing you hadn't tried.

Odd jobs, odd hours, and the occasional odd employer.

You'd played tennis for the last couple years of college. Nothing remotely competitive but you and your friends had looked cute in the skirts and they'd give you whole hours out of class to play.

You were above average with a good arm and better patience.

Another odd job to add to your growing list.

You'd been particular about where you'd posted the ads, the neighbourhoods you'd chosen. Only the ones with manicured lawns and white picket fences.

Tacking the paper to boards in upmarket cafes, fancy supermarkets, ladies-only gyms.

The kind of people that want their kids playing tennis and could find their way to increase your pay- if you did well.

You always did very well.

So your little car looked a little out of place in this neighbourhood, fingers holding the scribbled post-it note with the address. Your scrawling handwriting detailing the "Donaldson's" were enquiring within.

Pulling up outside the house, you had a quiet inkling that you might've been out of your depth. Whoever owned this house deserved more than an above-average-ex-college-student that only learnt the sport to spend time with friends.

But they'd requested you, you'd have to let them come to that conclusion on your own.

Your knuckles only hit the door once before it was being swung open by someone that looked destined to be a security guard, like he'd come out the womb with his future decided.

What the fuck had you gotten yourself into?

He'd left you in the "formal lounge" to sit smack-bang in the centre of a couch that wouldn't even fit in the lobby of your apartment building- let alone the apartment itself.

As you admired a painting on the wall that you'd only ever seen in books, high heels on the stone floors made you jump in your seat.

The most beautiful woman you might ever see in your life appeared before you and said your name in a way that had you standing from your seat.

Your face faltered just enough that you hoped she didn't notice. There was something about her that told you she noticed everything.

Fuck me, that's Tashi Duncan.

If you know a thing about tennis (or even just watched the news) you know exactly who this woman is. You remember her more from your childhood but you remember her all the same.

The woman that once held the world by the balls.

She apologised for her husband's absence, that he was busy. It wasn't lost on you that the "husband" she casually referred to was Art Donaldson, US Open champion.

The Donaldson's.

Ah fuck.

Tashi went on the explain that they were wanting to begin lessons for their daughter Lily. You assumed this was the one you could hear running circles around the informal lounge.

"With all due respect, am I not the least qualified person in this home for that?"

You watched a perfectly formed cheekbone lift in what was nearly a smile. Strangely enough, something in the pit of your chest was dying to make her do that again.

There was something about her that demanded to be impressed.

You were no exception to the rule.

"My husband and I have seen some of your matches, we liked what we saw."

How? Your 'matches'- if you can even call them that, were nothing of note. You don't even think faculty bothered to watch them. You weren't quite sure why they'd even recorded them.

A silly part of you began to wonder how they'd even got a hold of them- until you remembered who they were.

The Hermes and Peitho of tennis.

"You did? I always thought of myself as more of a casual player."

"And that's what we liked, we know better than anyone how brutal tennis can become. We want someone to help Lily enjoy the game."

Oh, okay then.

You'd made a quasi-college-career out of purely enjoying the game. You were sure you could foster the same spirit for the six-year-old performing the entire 'Encanto' soundtrack in the other room.

Tashi laid down a tight schedule, Monday to Friday, 3pm to 6pm. You would teach Lily the wonders of the game on the court behind their home.

Their home you'd come to find out was a luxury rental when you'd complemented Tashi on another of the art pieces that'd apparently come with the place.

You'd also come to find out they typically live in hotel rooms, but they'd settled in this area for the time being as Art had a good thing going with a regular playing schedule and a sporting-goods deal.

You nodded along like you could begin to understand a life like that.

As she showed you back to your car (the one you suddenly felt humiliated for her to see you own), she called your name one last time from the doorway.

"You undersell yourself, we'll give you eighty an hour."

She left you choking on your tongue with one foot in the car and the other on an Italian cobblestone.

You were never going to walk or sit another dog again.

Lily was going to win her first Grand Slam by ten if that's what they'd pay you.

As your peeled your car from their turn-around area, you watched a Jeep Wrangler slow as it passed you. You couldn't see through the tint but you just knew it was him.

And you knew he was watching you.

-

The minute you'd told your roommate the situation you'd come into, she'd called bullshit.

A few texts from Tashi's now saved icon and a weird little photo you'd taken from inside the guest bathroom, it'd been enough to convince her.

"Fucking hell, are you God's favourite or something?"

You'd argue you were quite the opposite, she of all people should know. She'd seen some of the states you'd come home in after your other random jobs.

Felt good to be the winner.

Even just once.

In the air of some girlish fascination, she brought up a Youtube video of "Tashi Duncan Career Highlights" courtesy of "tennisguy779."

You'd protested it, rolling your eyes while feigning disinterest. No use, the minute you caught her out the corner of your eye- you were captivated.

It was entirely possible to imagine she hovered above the court, like there was a greater force placing her exactly where she needed to be, exactly when she needed.

It was even easier to believe she was just that good.

As you watched her play, listened to the sounds the game could draw from her- you wondered if this was how she and Art had felt.

Had they curled up in their informal lounge like you were right now? Had Tashi studied your every move meticulously like you assume? Had Art passed comment on your form? Did he think you were any good?

Tennisguy779's lineup changed quickly to "Art Donaldson Career Highlights" and you felt your chest constrict. An inexplicable feeling washed over you.

Like you'd been caught with God's forbidden fruit.

Your roommate had tried to question why you'd effectively flown off the couch, only to be met with a muttered 'goodnight' as you shut the bedroom door behind you.

Thin walls meant you drifted off to sleep that night with the rhythmic sounds of Art, grunting his way through an ATP Challenger.

It was no surprise you dreamt of him.

-

The Donaldson's tennis court was down a steep set of stairs, set back into an oasis of lush greenery.

Perfect for a 6-year-old's first lessons.

You didn't know if it was the grand balcony that overlooked the court or the fact a well-manicured Tashi stood atop it, but you felt positively observed.

Lily was in the midst of showing you how she could do a cartwheel (she couldn't) when the voice in the back of your head started echoing a promise of $80/h.

"Alright, lets channel some of that into your elbow."

Give a six-year-old a racquet half the size of her and she's going to blow effective chunks, but at least she has the spirit. Maybe it's her energy, maybe it has been a while since you've been on the court-

The kid's running you ragged.

Coupled with her height, you're spending more time bent over than you are up straight and it's all going to your head. All you can hope is Tashi isn't up there watching you stumble after the ball.

But you're sure there are eyes on your back.

Lily is a quick learner and you work out a tradeoff of one tennis skill for one spinning heel kick (mandatory that you watch).

Roll on 6pm and she's dog-tired, however, she's managed to hit the ball at least twice. Surely that's earned your keep. She lays star-fished on the turf and murmurs something about a piggyback.

You know you're about to earn your keep.

By the top of the staircase, you're more than happy to hand over a Lily-shaped-sack-of-potatoes to Tashi's mother. As you emerge from behind an ornate gargoyle, your suspicions proved correct.

Art Donaldson had been watching your every move.

Left alone on the balcony with him, you're acutely aware of the fact he's standing between you and your exit, and he's just had a full show of you bent over and flitting about his tennis court.

That and you still haven't said so much as 'hello' to the man.

You dwell on it for a moment and then there's that feeling back in the pit of your stomach, like any minute you'll be caught with fruit in hand- in throat.

The Original Sin.

Luckily, Art made the decision for you, crossing the space to shake your hand. If he noticed the way your hand trembled, he didn't seem to mind.

"It's nice to finally meet you."

You wished you had more to say to him, or maybe something more intelligent. Something better than a quiet "and you."

He was the better conversationalist, thankfully. Head motioning to the court, he looked down his nose at you when he spoke.

It should've felt condescending. It didn't.

"How did she go out there?"

"Yeah, really good- not a Disney character I can't name now."

He laughed.

Really laughed, like the joke was better than it was.

Like there was a preening little flutter inside you that said "do it again!"

You shrugged your shoulders like making him happy came naturally as you squinted up at him, as if he was the sun.

"You were watching? You must've seen her picking it up?"

Because he was the expert. Because he is the champion.

He hummed as he nodded, eyes skywards like there might've been something more important behind the clouds.

"Must've been distracted."

Within an instant- his eyes flickered to your own and you were sure he watched them change. He must've seen something he liked, the corner of his lip quirked up before he spoke again.

"Come on, I'll sort your payment and then we'll let you get home."

And for whatever reason, his hand fit perfectly in the small of your back as he lead you inside.

-

And how quickly did you become a strange piece of furniture in the Donaldson's home- in their life?

An ottoman for Tashi to rest her tired feet on.

An abstract piece on the wall for Art to admire when he passes it.

A projection of constellations across the ceiling to keep Lily bright behind the eyes.

At least you belonged- there was no doubt that this was where you belonged.

That wasn't to say your tennis skill had improved any, lesson after lesson you still couldn't wrap your head around why they'd even signed you on, let alone kept you.

"Ok, don't watch that one either- maybe just do what I say and not what I do."

You hadn't nailed a single one, at this point you couldn't blame Lily for skipping around pretending her racquet was a horse.

Wasn't like she'd be learning anything if she was paying attention.

"Ok, here we go just- ok right, when your parents ask how today went, please be kind."

"Your elbow is too low."

It was a miracle you didn't scream.

Art entered the court with a swagger that you could only assume struck fear when he was your opponent.

Right now it struck pure embarrassment and Lily wasn't helping.

"Daddy, she didn't hit a single one!"

"Alright, I don't think daddy needs to know that-"

"Daddy knows, daddy's been watching."

Daddy really needs to stop calling himself that.

Lily and her racquet took off for another tour of The Grand National as Art approached you with quiet determination.

It was like waiting for impact, his eyes never wavered off his daughter as he made towards you. At the last moment, he snapped his attention in your direction- with a smile that should've felt condescending.

It wasn't.

"If your elbow is too low you lose topspin and power."

If you deserved the $80/h you were earning, you might've known that.

As Art stepped up to you, the turn of the planets on their axis slowed down and it could've been entirely possible to believe it was only you two.

And Lily upon her trusty steed.

The gallops of her tennis shoes thinned out as Art placed one hand around your elbow, lifting it higher. His other hand held your waist as he pulled your back flush to his chest.

"Lily, go find grandma."

Then it really was just you two.

Your heart hammered against the shell of your ribcage, blood rushing around your ears as you felt Art's chin perch at your shoulder.

"If your elbow is high enough," His hand lifted it up and you let it stay there. "And your hip is turned."

He didn't have to say it with the gravel in his voice, but he did. He didn't have to hold your hips as he moved them, but he did. He didn't have to stay without so much of an inch between the two of you, but he did.

With one hand in the curve of your waist, he tossed the ball into the air with the other- then he whistled.

Like the obedient thing you didn't know you were, you raised the racquet and sent the ball flying through the air without even blinking.

As the streak of green hit the court and rolled away, you found yourself lying in wait, as if you were waiting for something- your next command?

"Good girl."

There it was.

Under the all consuming effect that Art Donaldson just seemed to have on people, you'd entirely forgotten you were in a position you could be 'caught' in. By his all consuming wife, of all people.

So, you should've moved.

Quite honestly you should've straightened up and cleared your throat and thanked him and told him it was time for you to go home.

You should've moved.

But Art wasn't moving. If anything he was staying purposefully still at your backside.

Obedient thing you seem to be.

"Show me that again?"

So,

You teach Lily the bare basics of tennis for three hours and receive $80 on the hour.

Then Art spends three hours of his spare time teaching you to perfect your swing- in a way that couldn't ever vaguely resemble professional.

A simple transactional arrangement.

Your tennis improves on a slow but sure basis and he gets the most off-court action he's seen since college.

Even if it is just heavy petting on astro-turf.

A hand under the hem of a tennis skirt. A pressing hip against your own. A deep breath as your hair brushes past him.

You figure Art will take what he can get.

And it's never enough to raise alarm. Sure, there's that fluttering in your chest that warns you might get 'caught' but you're never quite sure what one might 'catch' if they found you out.

It's undoubted who that 'one' is though.

The one who holds the cards- holds the throat, maybe.

Tashi, who's presence precedes her perhaps more than her reputation. Even when she isn't there, she's there.

So, when Art's hand lingers too long on the outside of your thigh and you think you can feel it verging into the territory that'll change everything- it's Tashi on your mind.

You're beginning to think your conscience sounds a lot like Tashi.

-

Who are you if not obedient to the Donaldson's?

Chasing Lily around a court.

Adhering to Tashi's every request.

Being Art's fantasy.

Being Art's.

Most of the time, anyway. Three hours a week.

Something to keep him bright behind the eyes, maybe. Something to keep him happy. Something to keep him-

Winning?

He tells you he plays better with you around. The way he says it makes you giggle, a girlish little noise that sort of just slips out. He serves the ball with his eyes on you and, sure enough, it lands smack where he wanted it too.

Everything where he wants it. When he wants it.

Shy and inconsequential touches and glances shared just between you.

Until, well- until they weren't.

"Would you like a coffee?"

Tashi's mother had taken Lily off to bed, leaving you and Art separated by an island. Kitchen island.

He braced both palms against it as he watched you watch the door, wondering if you should cut and run, wondering if someone else might come through it.

Talking yourself out of it. Whatever it might be.

"Yes please."

Even he looked surprised, brows raising an inch as he turned to the Nespresso machine. You took the moment to watch his back, the muscles moving under the cool-dry fabric of his shirt.

You spent all your time pretending not to notice him that actually allowing yourself the chance to study him made you lightheaded.

Had he always looked this captivating?

He broke your focus with a coffee cup, sliding it towards you as he rounded the bench. His eyes didn't even waver off you as he took a sip of his own.

It wasn't lost on you that he managed to tongue foam off the tip of his nose.

This was the longest you'd stuck around after a tennis lesson, longest you'd allowed yourself to be in his presence. You weren't quite sure how big this thing could get.

Your mouth was opening before your brain had decided it was a good idea.

"Mr. Donaldson-"

"Art."

"Uh, Art- I really appreciate the help you've been giving me- uh, you know- with tennis."

He placed his coffee mug down, nodding as he did it. "My pleasure."

Naturally.

That brain of yours was still firing off at a mile a minute. There was a very tiny voice right at the back that said it was up to you how this night would end- you had a choice to make.

Placing your coffee mug beside his, you scanned his face to find him already looking at you. Perhaps the choice was already set.

Maybe it was fate.

All he said was your name, it could've been the way he said it- but your whole body was losing the rigidity it'd formed when he first asked you to stay longer. When he'd made the choice.

Crossing the small gap between you two, Art was careful to keep one hand on the kitchen bench as the other hovered beside you. Not touching you,

Yet.

One step closer and the tip of Art's nose was touching yours. You think you might've been able to smell the coffee off his breath.

It thinned out- leaving you with his sweat. Musk. Art.

A sudden surge of morals overcame you, your voice broke out as a gasp.

"What about Mrs. Donaldson?"

"Actually, it's still Duncan."

You screamed.

Right in his face.

Tashi's voice made you jump out of your skin.

However, Art didn't move. As you turned your head to gauge the way his wife stalked across the kitchen, you felt his nose brush against your cheek.

Tashi retrieved a tall bottle of Pellegrino from the fridge, taking a poignant sip as her eyes flitted between the two of you.

What a fucking sight.

Her husband, eyes shut and face pressed pathetically to their daughter's tennis instructor- his hands itching to close around your waist.

You, young and bleary eyed looking utterly caught. Staring up at her like she might decide your fate.

It took all your strength to find your words.

"I’m not here to teach tennis, am I?”

“No, of course not. You’re frankly terrible at tennis.”

There's the Tashi you were expecting.

Her words should've stung, but they didn't. They couldn't, not when her husband was laying his hands against your back and rubbing soothing circles down the length of your spine.

Not when his lips were mouthing wet kisses along your cheek.

Not when she was right. Spade's a spade.

"Why am I here?"

She snorted, a real dissatisfactory sound- like she hoped you were smarter than that. She was halfway to her bedroom before she cut you loose.

"Careful, he makes that sound before he cums."

-

And he had, just like she'd said.

Art had cum in his shorts, pressed up against your thigh with his face still smushed against your own.

And you'd taken it, obedience in spades.

You'd stood there and let him hump your leg like a bad dog and you'd even pat his head and whispered kind words in his ear after the mess he'd made.

Then you slipped out the front door to your car and you'd pretended not to notice that there were two bedroom lights on upstairs.

You hadn't even divulged the freaky details to your roommate when you got home.

But the showerhead knew all about them.

Visions of Art on the clouds of steam- replayed in your head the sounds he'd made right in your ear.

How he'd whimpered your name when he splashed his boxers like a fucking teenager.

It was no surprise you dreamt of him.

You even showed up next day, valiantly. You didn't run for the hills or even straight to a tabloid about how weird the Donaldson's really were.

And maybe that's why you hadn't told your roommate either.

Because telling someone what Tashi allowed? What Art liked?

That'd mean you'd have to admit your dirty little secret.

You loved it.

When you showed up, something was different. No usual chatter in the house, no shoes by the front door. You checked out the front window to see what you'd missed when you arrived.

Tashi's car was gone.

"She's taken her mom and Lily to the ballet."

At least you didn't scream this time.

You were lucky your back was to him, lest he see the self-righteous little smile that broke when the words settled.

"Oh, ok."

"I'll see you on the court."

Oh, ok.

Lest he see the disappointment that took over.

Following him close behind, you didn't know why you were effectively surprised that he still wanted to continue with your lessons. You'd half expected- hoped, he'd bend you over the kitchen island.

Tennis was fun too, you guess.

Thinking about it, something that bold didn't seem the style of the man who'd nearly blacked out rubbing up on you. Beckoning you onto the tennis court with two fingers and a wry smile did, however.

You fell into your usual position, hip turned and elbow curved on your side of the court. You waited for him to appear behind you, chest melding into the curve of your back.

It never came.

Art took long strides towards the net, vaulting it in one smooth motion. He ended up parallel to you, waiting with a ball and racquet in either hand.

The smile had left his face, a rather blank expression taking over as he sized you up. And there was that fear- knowing what it felt like to be on the wrong side of him.

This was going to hurt.

From the moment he pressed the ball to the neck of his racquet, it was all over. Your feet were never in one place for more than a second, your arms burned above you, your head permanently on a swivel.

Art didn't look like he'd broken more than a sweat.

You knew he had, you could see it in the neck of his shirt. But he didn't look it.

He looked calm, he looked in control, he looked-

Like he was enjoying himself.

For every rally that you managed, you thought you saw an inkling of pride set in his features.

For every serve that you missed, you knew you saw unbridled lust.

Not a point scored in your favour, you hit the ball towards him one last time before you collapsed to the turf. Flat on your back, reminiscent of your first lesson here.

You watched the clouds shift over your head, listening to your pulse thick and fast in your ears. Just underneath it, you could hear footfalls approaching.

No hurry, but impending.

Soon, the sun above you was eclipsed by Art Donaldson. His golden hair shone with the halo of light behind it.

Now this was God's favourite.

"You can't be giving up this easily?"

Forcing a laugh, you threw your arm up and over your eyes. "Wanna bet?"

Turns out he did- turns out Art struggled to do anything but win.

Somehow, you found it within yourself to stand back up. This time it was only a practice, you weren't brave enough to face off against him another round.

This was more your speed.

The hand that wasn't holding your elbow was curving around your front, the pleats of your tennis skirt lifting over his fingers. You felt a warm hand slowly moving across the front of your underwear.

Two fingers migrated south, pressing against the seam of you- he must've felt the pure heat radiating beneath his fingertips.

Turning your head even an inch, you found the curve of his nose pressing into your cheek.

"I didn't give up."

He hummed, the vibration rolled across your shoulders.

"Mmm, you didn't."

The hand sans-racquet dropped between your thighs to press his palm into your cunt. It was Art who flexed your fingers and cupped it.

"Where's my prize?"

There was no trophy, no podium, no medal.

But there was Art between your legs, slinging a knee over each shoulder like he might've been the real winner.

You'd never been inside the 'changing shed' behind the court, of course it was nicer than your actual home.

Your head made contact with the hard wood behind you, bench digging into your ass as you felt a hot mouth moving against the seat of your underwear.

Running your fingers through his hair, your gripped the ends of it- tugging him closer until you felt the flat of his tongue through the thin fabric.

Needy fingers tugged the ruined garment down your thighs, tucking him into the pocket of his shorts. You knew all too well that you'd never see them again.

You were sure Art would be seeing a lot of them.

His tongue ran up the split, one long stroke before you felt the curve of his nose press to your clit. The ridge of it moved as his tongue retreated back to your entrance.

With everything he had.

Your eyes had been rolling back in your head as you arched your back, the moment you were able to find a semblance of control- your gaze fell before you.

Naturally, Art was already looking up at you. Two hands splayed across each side of your hips as he pulled back to wrap his lips around your clit.

You couldn't help the hazy little smile on your face as you watched his eyes.

Utterly devotional.

The more you tugged on his hair, the hungrier he seemed. Pulling from the root seemed to spur him on, seemed to tell him 'good job' and he was responsive.

His tongue flicked beneath your clit, pressing it to his upper lip as he brought two fingers to your entrance. He stroked a couple times, making your hips twitch against him, before he sunk in to the last knuckle.

Turns out Art had a style about him. One he brought to the tennis court and, seemingly, to the floor of his changing shed.

The style was calculated.

Every move he made was engineered to get something out of you- a reaction, a whimper, a twitch. He was doing what he did best.

Playing a game.

Art struggled to do anything but win.

"Fuck- Mr. Donaldson."

"Art."

Even muffled against your cunt, you were good at following his orders. Even more so when he was the decider of your imminent orgasm.

You threaded your fingers in the sides of his hair, pulling his face flush against you so you could ride his mouth. Taking every last thing from him you could.

It drew the most pathetic moan you'd ever heard, straight out of his chest and hit you straight at your core. The burning coil tight within your stomach was unraveling quickly.

You heard the murmurings of words, among the blood rushing in your ears. Easing up just enough, you let him pull back to speak.

"Tell me this feels good, please."

Your chest thumped, the sight of Art helpless between your legs was one thing. Hearing him beg?

You might black out.

"Art- you feel so fucking good," Dragging him right back where you needed him, the tip of his tongue drove against your clit. "You're gonna' make me cum."

He whined.

A heady drawn-out sound that quite literally sent you over the edge. Your hips lifted off the bench, the heel of your foot digging into his back and making his whine turn into a whimper.

Your orgasm broke you apart until it felt like white-hot flame licking up your sides. Of course, Art never relented, drinking in everything you could give him- literally.

The moment you felt the peak begin to subside, the urge was ramping right back up. Like he knew what he was doing, his eyes locked back onto yours as he sucked at your clit.

He was going for gold.

A quick second orgasm hit, seemingly out of nowhere. Your thighs clenched around Art's head, his hands coming to each of them.

You relaxed yourself a bit, feeling like it might be too much- until you felt him pressing your thighs even harder to either of his ears.

Oh, ok.

Art Donaldson knew what he liked.

You physically had to push him off you, watching him fall back on his outstretched palms as you let yourself breathe for what felt like the first time.

Wet eyes, wet chin, chest rising and falling like he'd run a marathon- Art sat sprawled out before you like he'd stumbled upon an alter (he had).

Breathless, you gestured towards him. Your hand dropped a little as your eyes fell between his legs, wordlessly offering a deal.

A deuce.

His cheeks flushed, more so than they already were. His eyes fell an infinitesimal amount before he spoke up.

"Uh- I already have."

Of course he had. He makes that sound before he cums.

Instead, you heard him shuffle back onto his knees as he all but crawled towards you. He draped his upper half into your lap, head resting against the soft cotton of your skirt.

Coming off the other side of a high, the reality of your situation began to settle for you. Why they'd really called you here- what purpose you really served.

All you could do was gently stroke a hand across Art's head, feeling him go limp against you. Boneless, but not spineless.

He must've known you were going to speak, he must've heard the intake of breath or just felt you shift. He cut you to the chase- beat you to the punchline.

Art nuzzled his face further into your lap as you felt him mumble against your thigh.

"I can't lose- you."

[cloudluvrrr]

fluff with obsessive (ok sounds hella creepy lmao) madly in love sunday but NOT LIKE THE YANDERE TYPE IF YK WHAT I MEAN. LIKE THE TYPE WHERE HE WILL WORSHIP THE GROUND U WALK AND THANK THE AEONS HE BREATHES THE SAME AIR AS U

basically sunday who sees you as the aeon of beauty herself

a/n: i love sunday guys hes so cute i wish he wasnt so negative and traumatized. Also idk if it was but i just made him like love bomb you but its permanent and he just loves you a lot and worships you and also general ideas 😭🙏

loving! sunday x g/n reader

Angel

virtual angel - artms

--

-hes very busy, with meetings and constantly is in his office. Reviewing plans or studying the scripture. But he never fails to send you texts

'hello angel <3'

"I will be home late, please don't stay up for me <3."

“I’ve made us restaurant reservations, so be ready when I get home <3.”

-his texts are always grammatically correct, since hes always writing to his colleagues or to other families.

-but sometimes he tried to incorporate emoticons.

“How are you my angel? :3”

“These meetings are boring. ;-;”

"Hello darling, I bought take out! o((>ω< ))o"

-he’s so cute

-but he often checks in when he has a chance too, and often responds quickly. And always ends his message with a heart.

-when speaking of you or to you he smiles with his eyes closed. He will find any excuse to talk about you

-and he’ll likely bring your flowers after a long day, as an apology for taking too long.

-taking you to his 'family' dinners, and parties.

-and help you dress up and even put on your makeup, jewelry, and help you with your zipper/tie/buttons.

-kissing your cheek, and shoulder as he does. Whispering sweet things in your ear.

-he'll always have things for you incase of an emergency as well, if you find yourself with a spill or your shoes are hurting. He'll tell his assistant to bring you a new pair and escort you to a private room.

-during parties he'll drag you away, to walk around just the two of you

—

Your sitting on the couch on your phone, reading the latest news before your attention is turned to the door opening. Revealing Sunday as he carried a small bouquet of flowers “I apologize the florist didn’t have any that were bigger my love” he began as he closed the door “I’ll buy you bigger ones next time”

"you and your gifts for me sunday" you spoke taking the flowers from him and arranging them. "I love giving you things, I have money to throw around why not spend it on my lovely fiance" he replied playing with your hair, and burying his nose into your collarbone "you're so wonderful... " he uttered his hands gently rubbing your waist "so perfect.. I love you very much you know"

--

-Sunday only works during the week, on weekends he's all yours.

-you both wake up late in his expensive bed, he'll be all over you in the morning whispering sweet nothings.

-he'll make breakfast, whatever you want he'll make.

-Making a plan of what you want and organize the day to fit your schedule. Ordering his driver around and having a private shopping day

-giving anyone a look if they look at your a little weird

-buying you anything and everything 'I dont have any other use for my credits' he'd say as he placed another ring on your finger.

--

"Sunday I can make pancakes" you huff trying to take the spatula from his thin fingers

"You work too hard, It time for me to pamper you" he said slyly, bringing up your hand and kissing your knuckles. "You do that every week"

"oh do I? I guess i forget" he chuckles flipping the pancakes.

"Would you like bacon with that my love?"

--

-you spend weekends together, in restaurants or shopping.

-or just at home lazing around, watching tv, scrolling through social medias or just petting his wings.

-he spoils you in every shape and form.

-buying you earrings, rings, necklaces and all kinds of stuff that'll make you happy

--

"this looks lovely on you doesn't it" he said pulling out a frilly shirt, with a gentle smile. "Sunday I have that one in 3 colors"

"it looks so beautiful on you why not have one more" he said putting up again your torso "its on sale as well" he added placing it on the overfilled basket

--

- He'll try to hide his stress and his own emotions from you, in an effort to not affect you.

-sometimes he'll open up about his past if hes tipsy enough, his wing piercings, his clipped wing on his torso, his trauma with the family, loosing his mother.

-especially when its something with that gopher fuck gopher wood

-you could tell when he was anxious, he would touch his piercing on his wing or play with his gloves

-that and he'll be spacing out during dinner

--

"did something happen a work" you asked taking his hand from his wing. "Nothing to worry your pretty head about" he said calmly kissing your hand, and smiling. "your sure.. you seem antsy" you insist "Just a bit antsy for the festival.. Hoping everything will be perfect, especially you. We have to find a new outfit for you don't we?"

--

-he was always a smooth talker and manipulative, hes able to easily do it when your worried as well.

-he does it so you dont think about it too much, as well as using gifts to lead you away from the conversation

-he doesn't like manipulating his love he'll avoid it, but its so you dont ask too many questions.

--

"I love you, you know that" he said not looking up from his desk, as he spoke to you over the phone "I know that.. I'm just worried you know, you haven't taken any days off this week." you vocalized as he continues his paper work "I'll make us reservations at your favorite restaurant" he suggests finally picking up the phone

"Sunday.. I just want to know you're okay"

"I am my angel, please stop worrying we'll see eachother at dinner. I love you, alright? I love you.. very much" he murmured before hanging up. His mind had many thoughts but you were always on top, he smiled to himself as he looked as the many photos of you on his desk.

--

Sunday loves you very much, his only regret it not showing it more. As he fell from the penacony theatre, his eyes following the horizon as he envisioned your smile. The only thing giving him hope, that he'll survive this fall.

-

STREAAM TTYL BY LOOSEMBLE GUYSYY

also kinda got carried away 😔😔

-- navi >.<

[snailsagere]

Please read my dni in my bio before interacting

I made a computer games to play when regressed so here's phone games to play when regressed!

Phone games to play when regressed!

All of these games are free unless stated otherwise and I will give content warnings if needed! If I miss anything and you think I should include it then feel free to tell me!

🌸= personal favourites

Monster girl maker 1 and 2

Description- it's a cute dress up game where you design monster girls, it's really really cute!

CW- I think it's got some medically stuff and general stuff that may be scary

My little pony pocket ponies

Description- it's a game where you get through enemies using the mlp characters it's quite tricky so I recommend this more for anyone who regresses to older ages but it's still really fun!

CW- none :3

🌸My little pony colour by magic

Description- it's a colour by number game where you colour in scenes and decorate a friendship museum!

CW- none :3

🌸My little pony magic princess

Description- you rebuild equestria and complete quests as well as little in game competitions!

CW- none :3

🌸My little pony celebration

Description- you celebrate loads of different parties hosted by the my little pony characters!

CW- none :3

Toca world

Description- pretty much like a doll house but on your phone, make characters, make them a house and explore the world etc, there are also dlc's you can pay for which add stuff like new locations etc

CW- none :3

Toca hair salon 3

Description- this is a paid game where you cut and style different people's hair!

CW- cartoon scissors, hair cutting equipment etc

🌸Hello kitty around the world

Description- you travel to different countries as hello kitty, learn facts about them and where they are in world! you also earn traditional outfits and food to dress hello kitty and feed her!

CW- none! :3

Hello kitty educational games

Description- play a variety of different games to earn outfits and furniture for hello kitty!

CW- none! :3

🌸Hello kitty fashion star

Description- dress up girls in sanrio clothes!

CW- none! :3

Hello kitty cafe

Description- own a cafe! And play as sanrio characters! This games a bit tricky so I recommend it for older kids! Aswell as that there used to be in app purchases to make it easier but they do not work anymore so keep that in mind!

CW- none! :3

Hello kitty goodnight

Description- you play little mini games to get the hello kitty family to sleep!

CW- none! :3

🌸Littlest pet shop your world

Description- play loads and loads of littlest pet shop mini games and if you have the lps with the rubbery heads you can even scan them into the game!

CW- none! (I haven't played every mini game but it seems fine)

Cats and soup

Description- this is a clicky game where you unlock cats for them to make soup

CW- drawings of cartoony knives (to cut veggies)

Bunnybuns

Description- you play as a bunny making food for customers based on hints they give you

CW- none (I don't remember if they use kitchen equipment but I think they don't, not certain though!)

My talking Angela 2

Description- look after a cat called angela, play mini games etc

CW- none! :3

🌸Virtual families 3

Description- I grew up play virtual families 2!this is the same premise we're you look after a family on your phone!

CW- none! :3

Tsuki odyssey

Description- similar to tsuki adventure but now you're in a new location, you can fish, buy things, decorate your house and see what tsuki gets up to

CW- I think burglary is mentioned at the start

Cats are cute

Description- expand a town of cats, pet them, feed them and play with them!

CW- none! :3

Adorable home

Description- play as a couple and adopt loads and loads of cats, look after them and decorate and expand your house!

CW- none! :3

Any papa's game

Description- cook food for customers! All the papa's games are paid for but they're only £1-£3! My personal recommendation is papa's pancakeria!

CW- some of the games have knives in them

🌸Pokemon playhouse

Description- you collect pokemon and play cute mini games with them! This is a good game for little kids who like pokemon!

CW- none! :3

Pokemon smile

Description- brush your teeth to catch pokemon!

CW- none! :3

Pokemon go

Description- walk around outside and catch pokemon! Definitely recommend doing this when it's less cold hehe

CW- none! :3

Pokemon cafe

Description- a match three gand where you make food and drinks fir pokemon customers!

CW- cartoony knife+kitchen equipment maybe

🌸Egg!

Description- raise eggs until they hatch into cute creatures! I loved this game when I was little

CW- none! :3

🌸My school-learning game

Description- be a teacher in a school and teach characters basic maths and English (it has a few different language options depending on where you're from) you can unlock things but you have to pay for them but what is free is fun

CW- none! :3

Colouring games

Description- colour in pictures!

CW- none! :3

🌸Jungle floof

Description- raise jungle animals and play mini games!

CW- none! :3

🌸Applaydu

Description- a kinder egg toy game! Loads of different activities to do and you can unlock characters by scanning your kinder toys!

CW- none! :3

🌸Duo abc

Description- learn the alphabet and basic words (only English), disclaimer? Maybe? not the same as duolingo, this app is made for children

CW- none! :3

Extras! (games I found while making this list)

Plants vs Zombies 1, 2 and 3

Description- fight zombies by setting up plants with different abilities! I recommend this for older kids, I had pvz 1 and 2 when I was younger and I was very bad at it haha

CW- zombies, ungorey violence (no blood etc)

Sundae picnic

Description- make ice cream for cats and dogs! (please don't actually give cats or dogs ice cream)

CW- none! :3

Pokemon sleep

Description- collect pokemon by sleeping (sometimes the app doesn't record your sleep properly but usually it's ok, still fun either way)

CW- none! :3

Khan kids

Description- I haven't played it yet but it looks like it has little mini games for younger kids on it!

CW- idk :c

[cheapshrimpysheep]

Hello OP! Hope u don’t mind this request for the demon bros

So just earlier i saw the “raising a pet together” game on tiktok, and i was on a freenzy, IT’S JUST TOO CUTE 🥹 and i’m too single to have anybody to do it with me lol.

What would be their reaction when the MC got them to downloaded the app and raise the virtual pet together?

COMMENTS: Well, I didn't know about this game, so I asked Gemini (Bard) about it to find out a little more about this type of game. Long story short: I told some of my friends about this game and now we are taking care of a virtual kitten together 😊 Thank you so much for the request 😉

What I wrote is based on my little experience playing the game called Pokipet. I hope you and all enjoy 🐶🐱

CHARACTERS: Demon Brothers (Lucifer; Mammon; Leviathan; Satan; Asmodeus; Beelzebub & Belphegor)

TAGS: Fluff; GN Reader; Bullet Points

WORD COUNT: An average of 390 words per character.

CONTEXT - According to Gemini (formerly "Bard"): The "Raising a Pet Together" game is a concept where you and someone else, like a friend, family member, or significant other, work together to raise a virtual pet.

The core idea is to work together to raise a virtual pet, which can be a fun way to: Simulate pet ownership and its responsibilities. Test your teamwork and communication skills. Have a cute and engaging way to interact with someone else.

“Why would we take care of a virtual pet together if we can already do it with Cerberus?” He will ask you.

Well, maybe you just want to try it out and see how it goes.

“Of course everything would be fine. The two of us would be its caretakers. How could anything go if not perfectly?” he sighs and chuckles “Fine. If you really want to do this, then I can accommodate your whims.”

According to Lucifer's traditional Devildom profile, when asked "Cats or Dogs" he answers "Cerberus". So he would choose to take care of a dog and name it Cerberus.

Whenever you open the app to take care of the little virtual Cerberus, Lucifer has already taken care of everything. Feed it? He already did. Give it a bath? He already did it. Pet it? The happiness bar is already maxed out, but you can still do it.

You would probably do more of the decorating of the room and give it clothes and accessories. He'll probably be stupidly good at the minigames and earn a lot of money so you can spend it freely on those things.

Whenever he has a lot of work and opens the app as if it were another of his responsibilities and sees that the virtual Cerebrus is fed and well taken care of by you, he will smile in relief. It's so wonderful to have another person he can rely on and share responsibilities with. You're so good at taking the weight off his shoulders and making him feel at ease.

He will definitely try to use this game to convince you to take care of the real Cerebrus with him instead of a virtual pet.

If the app has a chat and, at night, you both open the app at the same time to put your pet to bed:

Lucifer: Good evening (Y/N)

Lucifer: Are you here to put Cerberus to bed too?

Lucifer: What a pleasant coincidence.

The two of you cuddle your pet until it falls asleep.

Lucifer: Now, you should go to sleep too.

Lucifer: The same applies to me.

Lucifer: But now I want to fall asleep with you by my side.

Lucifer: Come to my room.

Lucifer: I can cuddle you until you fall asleep too.

Lucifer: If what you want is to sleep, of course.

“Raising a pet together?! Do you think I have money to support a pet? I can barely stay out of debt!” Mammon panics and speaks as if you were talking about a child.

But then you explain that it's a virtual pet, on your D.D.D.s.

“Oh...” He blushes a lot. “W-why didn't you say that from the beginning, you dummy?” He thinks for a second and then smiles widely. “Well, if it's free, I guess we can try it.”

According to Mammon's traditional Devildom profile, when asked "Cats or Dogs"  he answers "Cats". If you were surprised, so was I. For a name? Maybe Goldie, like his credit card. A yellow kitten named Goldie.

He'll blush a little when he thinks that you're taking care of a pet together, like a real close couple.

You are the one who will take care of Goldie the most. Giving it food and bath. And there will be many times when you almost don't have the money for it because Mammon will spend it all on toys, clothes and decoration. Even though it's a virtual pet, he will spoil it.

In terms of the pet's needs, he will probably just play with it. And give it treats. He will try to do the minigames to earn more money, but regardless of whether he is good at these minigames or not, he will continue to spend more money than he can earn.

But despite everything, he will try to be as helpful as possible and genuinely try to take care of Goldie so you don't have to do all the work. Sometimes he will even surprise you by taking really ood care of it.

If the app has a chat and, at night, you both open the app at the same time to put your pet to bed:

Mammoney: Oi! What are ya doin' here?

Mammoney: Oh. Ya here to put Goldie to bed too?

Mammoney: Ok. You can do it tonight

You cuddle your pet until it falls asleep.

Mammoney: Aww look at our baby~

Mammoney: PET! I MEAN PET!

Mammoney: hey... if you're still not sleepy either

Mammoney: why don't ya come to my room?

Mammoney: I always feel more relaxed with you by my side

Mammoney: Maybe we can help each other sleep?

Mammoney: Or... do something else if ya want...

“A VIRTUAL PET TO TAKE CARE OF TOGETHER?!?!” Levi is overjoyed with the idea! His eyes were sparkling! You don't need to say anything else, he's already downloading the app. Could this be a test to find out if you would be good parents to a real pet? Or maybe... No! NO LEVI! TOO EARLY!! One step at a time.

According to Levi's traditional Devildom profile, when asked "Cats or Dogs"  he answers "Henry". But since he could only choose between dog and cat, he would probably choose dog, because cats are known to eat fish.

For a name? “Maybe Henry 3.0?” He starts to suggest “Hum... no... Ah! Can I try something?” he writes a name that is accepted and shows it to you so you can confirm or deny the suggestion, with his cheeks slightly flushed. Henry <3 When he sees you smile in confirmation, his smile and enthusiasm only increase.

He's a dedicated gamer, so you don't have to worry about anything at all! He will get so many coins that you will practically be rich in that game. And he will buy everything. EVERYTHING! Decoration, food, toys, clothes, accessories, literally everything that is possible to buy in the game. And you can do whatever you want.

If you show that you would like to contribute more to your pet's care, he will apologize and promise to play less so you can have the opportunity to take care of Henry <3 too. But of course he will continue to open the app almost constantly, even if it's just to see you taking care of Henry <3.

Don't be surprised if he one day shows up with a Henry <3 plush so that the two of you can cuddle your baby whenever you want.

If the app has a chat and, at night, you both open the app at the same time to put your pet to bed:

L3V1: HEYYYYY ^.^

L3V1: Are you here to put Henry <3 to bed too?

L3V1: Let’s do it together!

The two of you cuddle your pet until it falls asleep.

L3V1: Hey... um... are you sleepy?

L3V1: The thing is I'm not sleepy yet

L3V1: Actually I'm now wide awake

L3V1: Could you keep me company for a little while?

L3V1: You know, I always feel sleepier when I'm with you

L3V1: I feel safe and calm

L3V1: If by chance you also feel this way about me

L3V1: Would you like to keep each other company in my room?

L3V1: But it could also be in yours

L3V1: Or not. It's okay if you don't want to

Take care of a virtual pet together? Where one of the options is a cat? Sign him up! And since he can't have a real pet cat, this is the best thing you could have propose to him! (*cough* besides marriage *cough*)

We don't even need the Devildom profile for this one, do we?

For a name? Probably the name of one of his favorite writers. Or... how about the name of one of your (you two) favorite writers? Christopher from Christopher Peugeot ;)

He's not that much into games, but since we're talking about taking care of a kitten, he can reach your level of experience. Or at least he will try. And to do this, he will do two things: 1st - Ask you for help. Which will make you two learn together how the game works. And 2nd - Do a lot of research on the internet about the best ways to play and the best strategies to get lots of coins so that your cat doesn't lack any care.

That game will be one of the main apps on his D.D.D. In addition to apps about books and the chat where he talks to you and the others.

Maybe he'll even find a way to change the background on his phone to a screen shot of your virtual pet.

If the app has a chat and, at night, you both open the app at the same time to put your pet to bed:

stn: Hello.

stn: I see you're here to put Christopher to bed as well.

stn: Why don't we do the honors together?

The two of you cuddle your pet until it falls asleep.

stn: Now we both should go to sleep too.

stn: If you are having trouble falling asleep, you can come to my room.

stn: I will be happy to read with you until you fall asleep.

stn: Your company will also help me rest.

stn: So feel free to come see me.

“Take care of a virtual pet together? That sounds so cute! Oh, but it's not as demanding as taking care of a real pet, is it? I'm not ready for that kind of commitment. I still need my ME time.~”

According to Asmo's traditional Devildom profile, when asked "Cats or Dogs" he answers "Me <3". But you need to choose between a dog and a cat. So you suggest a cat.In real life, cats are generally not as dependent as dogs. And, lets say that they are more likely to take "beauty more seriously" than a dog.

For a name? “OH! Can it be Asmodeus II? Pretty pleeeeease~”

You will be Asmodeus II's main caretaker. Since Asmo will be more interested in spoiling it with toys, clothes and affection. And if he wants to buy something and doesn't have coins for it, he'll try to convince you to play more mini-games to get more coins for him to spend. “Ow, don't be mad at me hon. It's for our little baby. What if I spoil you in real life as a thanks~?”

When he tells his followers about this new virtual pet, eventually, more and more fans will ask him to tell them more and more about how it's going. Which mean that your pet will end up becoming part of his content. But it also ends up making Asmo pay more attention and care for it more.

And don't be surprised if, for a person who didn't want to commit to a pet, he ends up being the one trying to convince you to get a real pet. After all, if a virtual pet is already so good, imagine how much better a real pet would be! How cute would that be! And how much more engagement and new followers his social media would have! But despite this last one, what he really wants is to share a new love with you.

If the app has a chat and, at night, you both open the app at the same time to put your pet to bed:

AsmoBaby: Hey hon~ <3

AsmoBaby: I just wanted to come put our baby to bed~

AsmoBaby: Sorry for always being you the one to do this

AsmoBaby: What if you let me do this tonight? ;)

He cuddles your pet until it falls asleep.

AsmoBaby: Awwww! IT’S SO CUTE!

AsmoBaby: I have to take a screenshot to show my followers!

AsmoBaby: Give me a second~

AsmoBaby: I could see this cute little thing sleeping for hours~

AsmoBaby: But we both need our beauty sleep

AsmoBaby: Oh, that gives me an idea!

AsmoBaby: Why don't you come to my room?

AsmoBaby: We can do our nighttime beauty routines together

AsmoBaby: And we can sleep together if you want to stay with me

AsmoBaby: You deserve some spoiling for taking such good care of our baby <3

“A virtual pet?” Beel wouldn't understand the proposal well at first. “Isn't the point of having a pet to have a true companion by your side? You know, to take care of each other and play together?”

You tell him yes, but that it's just a little experience for you to share. Seeing how much you really want to do that with him, he will smile. “Okay, if you really want it that much, I'll take care of a pet with you. It'll be fun. Anything with you is.”

According to Beel's traditional Devildom profile, when asked "Cats or Dogs" he answers "Dogs". So, a dog will be.

For a name? You're asking a lot of him. Could you choose one for him? But try to keep it from being a food-related name, this will make Beel hungry. (And in the worst possible scenario, he wanting to bite your virtual pet. This is before he becomes attached to it)

He won't care much about aesthetics, you can take care of that if you want. You are free to dress your pet and get it as many toys as you want. Beel will be more interested in feeding it well and exercising.

In terms of playing mini-games to get coins, it would be very balanced, none of you would get many more coins than the other. Unless you're crazy about those mini-games. In that case, you would get more coins than Beel.

You also shouldn't be surprised when he starts talking about the two of you getting a real dog as a pet. Yes, it's true that Lucifer has Cerberus and that he would let you take care of him from time to time, but Beel wants a puppy of both of you. He wants to have a little furry baby with you.

If the app has a chat and, at night, you both open the app at the same time to put your pet to bed:

Beelzeburger: Hey

Beelzeburger: You're also here to put our dog to bed?

Beelzeburger: Being here with you makes me very happy

Beelzeburger: We can do this together

The two of you cuddle your pet until it falls asleep.

Beelzeburger: I'm going to get a snack before going to bed

Beelzeburger: Do you want one too?

Beelzeburger: We can have a midnight snack together

Beelzeburger: I'm going to the kitchen now

Beelzeburger: Do you want to meet me there?

Beelzeburger: Or do you want me to bring a snack to your room?

Beelzeburger: Oh wait!

Beelzeburger: I can eat your snack on the way

Beelzeburger: Sorry, it would be better if you come meet me in the kitchen

“A virtual pet? Well, it's not as demanding as having a real pet. And it would be fun to take care of a pet with you. Okay, we can do it.”

According to Belphie's traditional Devildom profile, when asked "Cats or Dogs" he answers "Dogs". So, a dog will be.

For a name? Well, Belphie would have a little idea. “You know, Beel has always reminded me of a happy dog, especially when he smiles. Ha ha. What do you think about calling it Beel?” That and when you two talk about your pet without giving context, the reactions of the brothers would be fun to watch.

You'll probably realize that taking care of that pet with Belphie is a rollercoaster. One moment he takes care of all the pet's needs and even buys one or two little things for it. And the next, the pet has all its needs at a minimum and needs a lot of care. Those last one usually happens because Belphie has fallen asleep and has been sleeping for a long time. But apart from those times, your care would be quite balanced.

You would probably be more in charge of playing the mini-games to earn coins. That's because Belphie doesn't really like to have that much work, although he tries to do it from time to time so it doesn't always have to be you.

He wouldn't start trying to convince you to get a real pet. Especially a dog. Because he knows it would be a responsibility he's not prepared for and he knows it would end up giving you more work and he doesn't want that. That virtual pet is perfect. At least for now.

If the app has a chat and, at night, you both open the app at the same time to put your pet to bed:

Belphie: Hi

Belphie: You're here too

Belphie: Do you want to put it to sleep?

Belphie: Be my guest :)

You cuddle your pet until it falls asleep.

Belphie: Thanks <3

Belphie: Hey, since you're still awake too

Belphie: Come join me

Belphie: Let's cuddle until we fall asleep

Belphie: I always sleep better when I'm with you

Belphie: I also have the best dreams

Belphie: Come sleep with me~

If you dropped in here out of the blue and want to read more from me, you can find it in my pinned post: INDEX

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Fujitsumon

Debut: Digimon Pendulum 2.0 Deep Savers (kind of. It's a little complicated. But don't worry about that)

Fujitsumon is a darling little eyes-in-a-void barnacle! With their brown exteriors, they really do bring to mind Jawas, world-renowned eyes-in-a-void creature. This is a rare design choice for a barnacle, and a barnacle is a rare creature inspiration choice! Too rare! They are such incredible and fascinating animals, and should absolutely be represented as such, and not just background decorations!

Fujitsumon is essentially a Digimon by technicality, an accessory of a creature, and I'm fine with that. They're acknowledged as creatures, and that's enough for me! They're almost always seen attached to the surface of another creature, and that sure is barnacle of them!

This is their host, Octomon! Or Octmon, if you don't like the dub name, but I think Octomon sounds better. Octomon wears a clay pot on its head, and Fujitsumon live on top of that! This is a smart setup. If I lived underwater I would love to wear a hat that some barnacle friends of mine could live on! Fujitsumon and Octomon have a mutualistic relationship going on, where the barnacles will sense danger, and warn the octopus of it, getting the whole group out of danger!

The reason I wasn't so sure about Fujitsumon's debut is that in Deep Savers, Octomon's sprite looks like this, not nearly detailed enough to even depict some barnacles! However, it does seem like the official art was made around this time, so I might as well consider this Fujitsumon's debut too.

There isn't much to Fujitsumon, but I love it! It's cute, it's a barnacle, and it's almost a "secret" creature, and that makes it, dare I say, even more fun than if it was a standalone obtainable Digimon! A charming little oddity in the digital world.

That's what I thought until I found out this little barnacle has a whole dedicated ANIME EPISODE! YEEHAW! This is the best barnacle-related cartoon episode I've ever seen! Better than SpongeBob SquarePants episode 164a Barnacle Face! Why, even better than Benny the Barnacle (2022)! Can you believe it? Better than Benny the Barnacle? I can.

In this episode of Digimon Ghost Game, the human protagonist is tormented by premonitions of disasters occurring to everyone around him, revealed to be caused by a Fujitsumon settled on his head. A land mammal is no place for a barnacle! Wouldn't it be crazy if you could go to the beach and leave with a barnacle settled on your fingernail? What would you even do? I would probably feel obligated to dip my finger into the ocean regularly to let it filter-feed. If only we had air plankton!

This Fujitsumon, as well as others that are affecting other humans, come from one particular Octomon, who got so angry at his barnacles that they Left. These are no real-life, cemented-in-place-for-the-rest-of-their-lives barnacles! They can just get up and leave if they're bothered. I bet real barnacles wish they could do that! It would be so embarrassing to end up settled right next to a turtle's... hehe... I shan't say...!

Octomon's petty outburst was over his magic brain barnacles not using their clairvoyance to help him win at a mobile game. Now, because of his Gamer Moment, there are Fujitsumon stuck directly to peoples' heads, which can cause these heads to explode. Maybe he should have just played a good mobile game, like Pico Pets Puzzle! *high fives someone offscreen*

Don't worry! Everything's ok in the end, like it always is with invertebrate friends! Octomon apologizes, the lead Fujitsumon gathers the whole crusty crew, and everything is fine except for the physical damage that has already been done, but don't worry! The virtual invertebrates are all friends again! Squishy or chitinous, none of us have spines, and that's what matters!

If you know of any obscure barnacles in media, please let me know in the notes! And until the next high tide, remember to close your armored plates to prevent dessication!

[piratefalls]

i'm back! between work and trying to write my first fic for this fandom i've been falling really behind on reading, so for now these are going to be a more bi-weekly occurrence than weekly. in any event, there's truly a little bit here for everyone, so enjoy this week's mix of a+ works!

masterlist

you and me, babe, how about it? by @myheartalivewrites

Alex sits in the back of their Secret Service approved, PPO driven Land Rover, excitement thrumming through his body. The leather squeaks as he fidgets incessantly; his skin burns where Kieran’s shoulder is pressed into his, despite the layers of fabric between them. On the other side of Kieran, he can see Henry’s fingers twitch on top of his own knee, playing an imaginary piano, flicking out and squeezing in before releasing and starting again. Like he’s so fucking desperate to reach out and touch the leg next to his he’s having to muster up all of his self-control, draw on all the years of keeping himself restrained, just to not start things too soon. Alex can’t believe they’re actually, finally, doing this.

you know i can't be found with you by stutteringpeach

“He’s cute,” Alex declares on the first day of class. Liam doesn’t even bother to look up from his laptop. “Uh huh.” “The professor.” Liam makes a non-committal noise. “I’m gonna fuck him.”

Longer Than Most by happinessofthepursuit

“Oh,” Alex says. “Sick.” Henry can’t help but grin. He can’t believe he’s so bloody gone on a man who says sick and dude, who he’s slept with all of one time and proceeded to knock him up. Henry’s a cliche, honestly. “It is, indeed, sick, as you say.” Alex rolls his eyes, but his cheeks darken a shade, giving him away a bit. “Listen, the closest I get to poetry is your fucking face. Excuse me if my vocabulary doesn’t quite compare to yours.” Or, Alex and Henry have a one night stand. That is, until a baby’s involved.

Baby (Let Me Put On a Show) by SatinBirds

It’s been five months, and still Alex is never completely prepared for Henry’s performances. Private or otherwise. Or, Henry is a night dancer, and he’s everything Alex wants.

Sun Salutations (Waif for Me) by @duchessdepolignaca03

He repeats the movement five or six times, his body heating up with each repetition, loosening the hangovers’ grip on him through very effective breathwork. Wanting to open up his hips a little bit more, he settles into a wide-legged forward fold. He holds the pose, enjoying the delicious stretch on his lower back and virtually all the muscles of his lower body. Then he just about jumps out of his skin when he hears, “Mmm, breakfast is served.” Or: Alex parties hard on a Thursday night and has some deliciously anonymous sex with the glittery blond he calls Waif. When he wakes to do his naked sun salutations, he learns that Waif is a very, very hungry, 'temporarily unhoused' boy whom Alex quickly invites to live rent-free in his head.

secret, scars, and trust by viciouslyqueer

He trails off and Henry takes the opportunity to cup his cheek, gently swiping his thumb over the smooth skin. “Hey. We don’t have to do anything. We can stop right now if you want to, or cuddle for a while. I can put on a movie if you’d like. I don’t mind either way.” Alex’s smile grows and he leans into the touch, pecking Henry’s lips again. “Thanks, baby,” he murmurs, and Henry has to fight the urge to react at the pet name. “But it’s not that. I want to keep going, if you want it, too. I just have to tell you something before, okay?”

make it five by anincompletelist

“Fifty bucks says I can get that guy’s number.” Popping the bubble of cinnamon-flavored gum Alex had just blown, he glances up from his phone to look at where Nora’s pointing. Just over the soles of his shoes, crossed at the ankles and propped on the flaking black wood of the shop’s front desk, there’s a man with broad shoulders lingering by the far wall. Alex hadn’t even heard the guy come in. “Nora. He’s literally looking at one of the biggest dildos I’ve ever seen,” he deadpans quietly. + alex works at a sex toy shop. it's usually a pretty easy job — if he could just stop daydreaming about the blonde guy that keeps coming in to buy literally all of alex's favorite sex toys.

talk by smc_27

Henry records himself for an audio erotica app. Alex finds it. And listens.

Got a ticket for two by clottedcreamfudge

Henry likes his apartment - he has done since the day he moved in a year ago. The light in the sitting room is gorgeous at all times of day thanks to the ceiling to floor windows which lead out onto a south-facing balcony, only just large enough for the plethora of plantlife his flatmates care for. The kitchen is always stocked with his favourite tea, everyone keeps to their allotted cupboard and fridge space, and the bathrooms are kept meticulously clean. There's a rota for chores stuck to the fridge with magnets from Rhode Island and Minnesota, London and Milan, with everything typed up neatly so that nobody has to squint to read someone else's awful handwriting. His flatmates themselves? Well, they're a little… strange.

Far Away From the One That I Love by allmylovesatonce

It's been an agonizing two months of Henry being in London and Alex being in New York. When an opportunity to finally be reunited with Henry comes his way, Alex jumps on it. But things don't go quite how they expected after so much time away.

If We're Caught in a Wage (I Will Carry You Over) by @sparklepocalypse

There it is, up ahead – the small island just offshore, with Alex’s favorite broad, flat stone outcropping, perfect for sunning himself in seclusion. He splashes into the shallows and dives in when the water’s up to his knees, and it’s a matter of maybe a minute’s swim to reach the island. Alex finds his footing among the sand and pebbles, pulls himself upright, and shakes the water out of his hair, then pushes it back from his face. He can practically hear the outcropping calling to him -- you know, if inanimate rock could speak. Alex stretches, his mid-back satisfyingly popping, and then skirts his way between some larger rocks until his sunning rock is in view. Except – there’s someone already on the outcropping, their short blond hair shimmering in the sunshine, the upper slant of their shoulders visible from where Alex is standing. (Movie or Bookverse AU; Alex rents a remote beach house and Henry is a cecaelia.)

Protect Your Solitude by graceofgrayskull

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Alex stumbles onto Prince Henry crying in a storage closet and is forced to rewrite his perception of their first meeting.

Out For A Bite by everwitch

Henry's eyes fly up, zeroing in on the reflection in the mirror. There, behind him. The man from the bar. He looks different in the fluorescent bathroom lights. Sharper. There’s a look in his eyes that has Henry shivering all over again. It's greedy. Hungry. He’s staring right at Henry. Henry's throat feels dry. His heart beats madly. He's heard whispers of this place, and more importantly of its patrons. He thinks he knows what this man is.

each time we touch / i wanna take too much by @firenati0n

my fingers slipped and now there are fingers in mouths. wrote this in one sitting at 5am today. please forgive any egregious errors, i wrote it without my glasses on and on no sleep lol. hope you like it. <3 title from New Girl by FINNEAS

you took the time to memorize me (my fears, my hopes, my dreams) by coffeecatsme

The tour guide has a small bisexual flag pinned to his chest, right next to where his name is scrawled in big, bold letters. Alex, it reads; simple, to the point. The name tag rests on a red and black flannel, and underneath is a white t-shirt with Georgetown’s name stretched on the front, reminding Henry ever so starkly that he’s thousands of miles away from what he calls home. The flannel stretches over broad shoulders leading up to a strong jaw, all in contrast with the bright, dimpled grin stretched over a beautiful face. Henry thinks there isn't a place on the world far enough away from his grandmother to escape her clutches - even after transferring to Georgetown. Then, his tour guide extends a helping hand and shows him otherwise. Or, 5 steps Alex and Henry take to memorize each other and 1 time they realize they already do.

Praise & Supplication by NoCoastPosts

Alex is always moving, always going, always seeking. He is defiance and brashness tinged with anxiety, but not in these moments. Henry pins him down with a gaze as heavy as his touch, and all of Alex’s motions cease. He is calm, he is obedient, he is pliable. He knows he’ll be broken apart piece by piece, sending waves of heat deep into his core. or When Alex gets stuck in his head, Henry helps him let go.

Another Door Opens by 14carrotgold

Henry takes a long drink. “If it makes you feel any better, my dad's dead. He and my mum had the type of love straight from the storybooks and it got cut tragically short, so what is the point in finding something real if it's just going to hurt you?” Alex bites back a smile and shakes his head. “How in the fuck was that supposed to make me feel better?” He waves his hand awkwardly. “Oh, I just thought we were both sharing the trauma that impacted our romantic relationships.” - Henry and Alex first meet when Henry reveals their partners are cheating on them with each other.

Fifteen Hours Till Forever by inexplicablymine

“I would say that in this life, we aren’t granted many chances at true happiness, at the unadulterated freedom and joy that comes to the lucky ones. I would say that I know right now only fifteen feet apart, fifteen hours till forever, and somehow the universe has decided I ought to be one of the luckiest there are.” “But tomorrow,” he continues, “when we are saying our vows, when we are promising ourselves to one another forever, I want you to look me in the eyes and know that you are it for me.”  OR The year is 2025, and the world doesn't know they are getting married. 

home by rizcriz

For a moment he fears Henry’s been outed against his will somehow, but he scrolls down to find a video clip. Unable to trust himself to watch the video, he scrolls a little further to read the transcript. He learns that Henry had come out during a ribbon cutting, of all things. He’d stood in front of a crowd of a couple hundred people gathered for the opening of a new youth shelter, and he’d told his truth. Alex is tempted to watch the video, to examine his body language to see if it was planned or not, but he reads further and one sentence stands out to tell him it wasn’t. There is no comment yet from Buckingham Palace. -- or, six months after Henry rejected Alex at Kensington Palace.

The Way of Things by writerkenna

Henry and Alex have been very much enjoying the life they’ve managed to carve out for themselves. They’ve had to compromise and work and change to maintain it, but it’s worth it. Henry finds himself pregnant, though, and everything they’ve built starts to turn on its head. as always, let me know if you want to be tagged either because you're a writer or a reader (or both!) and i'll see you next time!

My life is a cosmic joke and you're not a real person by lizzie_bennetdarcy

Alex plans to be a lot of firsts in the world. But this absolutely isn't the kind of first he was thinking. He stares wide-eyed into the mirror at the letters on his shoulder while June whines to be let in. Alex finally unlocks the door and June bursts through. “Show me!” Wordlessly, Alex turns to show her his back. "What the actual fuck?" June exclaims, then claps a hand over her mouth. "Sorry, that was rude, but — is it more than one person?" Or: Five times Alex doesn't find his soulmate, and one time he does

tagging: @starkfridays @stilesgivesmefeels @midnightsfp @sarahjswift omg i feel like i'm missing someone

[khoipyan]

TWSTECHI; TWEELS

“Hey, look, look! Aren’t you super cute as a tamagotchi?” You held up the tiny toy to their face, displaying none other than themself.

gn!reader (you/your), floyd/jade leech x reader (seperate), headcanons

notes; wow you show them their own tamagotchi?!!? also, twst tamagochi’s do exist for your information!!!

JADE LEECH

— Oh? What’s this? Ah, a pocket pet? But my, he IS the pet? …Could you also perhaps put other people in it?

— Okay, but Jade would be heavily interested on how he’s able to be displayed on a tiny screen. In fact, how did you even get him in the tamagotchi? Please do tell. After all, you ARE carrying around an electronic toy of him. Did you miss him that much? Aww, he's quite flattered.

— It’s probably best not to let him know how you got this. After all, it's only natural to think that he would try hatching other people (like his twin) and feeding them virtual mushrooms (because his twin hates mushrooms).

— Wow! He seems to be taking care of his tiny self properly, isn't that cut— Nevermind. He's purposely feeding it too many sweets to see what would happen to it...

"Jade. Please stop torturing your poor self."

There's no response for a few seconds before Jade smiles at you, "But this tiny device isn't me, is it?" and puts a hand located where his heart is, feigning sadness. "My, is this your way of informing me that this little pixelated replica of myself is more meaningful?"

"Jade, put the damn thing down."

— Maybe it's time to take it away from him. Y'know, before he gets any ACTUAL ideas to consider bringing into this world.

FLOYD LEECH

— What’s this little dainty thing? Why is he in it? Why is he so… pixelated. Hey, wouldn’t you rather have the real thing (that is quite literally front of you?)

— Floyd is rather intrigued. Haha, he looks so funny for something you could fit in your pocket! Tell him, how does it work?

— So you did. You told him that it’s basically to raise a pet and not to let it die, but Floyd interrupted you during your explanation. He already knows that! Instead, he wants to know if it’s the same since you’re practically feeding his pixel persona. Also, why does he have to be a pet?

— You would expect him to get fussy that 'you spend too much time with a puny ripoff version of him', right?

— WRONG. You’re the one who has to pry him away from playing with his own tamagotchi. Floyd did end up trying it out, but he'd been at it for hours nonstop because he thinks it's silly. It was totally fun for him though.

“Floyd, give me my tamagotchi back—!” You insisted, trying to pry the tiny toy away from Floyd’s hands.

He whined in retaliation, “Heeey! Let go, I wasn’t doooneee!”

— Needless to say, you never got your Floyd Tamagotchi back. But hey, at least you have the real deal…?

( due to be edited at anytime )

[transgnckon]

I like my girlfriend so much I like her I need you all to know I like her a lot she’s the sweetest also we got an app where we can co-parent a little virtual pet together isn’t that cute

Also I just found out that you can marry another player in stardew valley which is great news to me bc I thought all the romance characters looked boring in that game & that kept me from wanting to play it for like forever & now I can just play it w my girlfriend ^-^

[bethanythebogwitch]

Since my previous posts on fish Digimon and mermaid (and mermaid-adjacent) Digimon got lived, fuck it, all aquatic Digimon. This will be a series of posts because there are too many for one.

I'm going to start with Digimon with codified evolution lines. For non-fans, know that while Digimon evolve through different stages, its much less linear than in Pokemon. While Pokemon evolution usually goes a to b to c, Digimon evolution can go more like a to y to r back to g then merge with e to become q. That being said, there are some lines that are clearly intended to be the default, often because they featured in the animes where evolution is usually a lot more linear than in the games and virtual pets.

Literally the OG aquatic Digimon is Betamon. It debuted on the first virtual pet alongside series mascot Agumon and yet its never been in the spotlight. I say Betamon deserves to be a major partner Digimon in some anime or game by now. I love this little frog/lizard/ wamp monster/whatever it is. Betamon also has a recolored variant called ModokiBetamon. Using a recolor as a new Digimon was fairly common in the early franchise. I generally prefer variants to have more changed about them than just the color. I also generally don't like x-antibody Digimon. To make a long story short, x-antibody Digimon are variants of existing Digimon that I generally consider to be overdesigned and ugly. Betamon has an x-antibody variant that isn't too bad as far as x-antibodies go, but it's still adding unnecessary elements to a perfectly good design.

Betamon

Betamon X

Betamon's main evolution is Seadramon and it's a classic for a reason. This sea serpent is a beast and played a significant role in the first anime as a monster of the week. It can also breathe out a stream of supercold air that freezes its targets. When I think of aquatic Digimon, Seadramon is usually the first to come to mind. It's also notable for having an x-antibody variant that actually looks good.

Seadramon

Seadramon X

Seadramon evoles to MegaSeadramon, which is a great follow-up to Seadramon's design. The red body is nice and striking and that big metal horn can shoot electricity. Come to think of it, both Seadramon and MegaSeadramon were monsters of the week in episodes of Adventure where a partner Digimon unlocked an evolution. Maybe that's the line's specialty, they never take the spotlight but they play support to the heroes. MegaSeadramon has a recolor called WaruSeadramon which is just darker and evil. MegaSeadramon has an x-antibody variant that is so overdesigned I can't help but grudgingly respect it.

MegaSeadramon

MegaSeadramon X

The final evolution in the family is MetalSeadramon which is where the line stepped into the spotlight with MetalSeadramon being a major villain in Digimon Adventure. It was upgraded by the Crack Team (a hacker group that upgrades Digimon into cyborgs for their own nefarious goals) to become incredibly powerful and the fastest of all underwater Digimon. And according to the anime, it can fly. Unlike the others, MetalSeadramon doesn't have an x-antibody variant. Sort of. There is GigaSeadramon, which has the x-antibody and looks exactly like what you'd expect from MetalSeadramon X, but isn't. I dunno why.

MetalSeadramon

GigaSeadramon

The aquatic line most people will be familiar with is the Gomamon line doe to its role in Digimon Adventure. Gomamon is a cute little seal. Specifically, it is a spotted seal, or a gomafu-azarashi. I really like this guy doe to its role in the anime as a laid-back and goofy partner to a compulsive worrywart of a human. Gomamon has an x-antibody variant that's fine, but I still prefer the original.

Gomamon

Gomamon X

Gomamon evolves to Ikkakumon, a big, fluffy walrus with a unicorn horn. It looks like someone that would be great to hug if you can get past the fish breath. Also that horn can open up and shoot out\t a torpedo. Because Digimon.

The next stage is Zudomon, who is now a humanoid walrus who appers to be suffering from hair loss. It's now adept at moving on land and in water. It also uses tools, wearing a giant turtle shell as armor and wielding Thor's hammer (despite what the English dub will tell you)

The final stage is Vikemon, a badass viking walrus complete with the helmet. It leads an army of Zudomon and Ikkakumon and (in another viking reference) will go into a berserk rage in combat. It does lose a lot of the aquatic design elements, but I'd say it works out.

While Vikemon is now the default end of the Gomamon line, for a while in the early days it was Plesiomon instead. I can see why they changed it, as the viking walrus has a much better connection to the rest of the line than a plesiosaur. I honestly thin it works better as an ultimate/perfect or champion/adult level than a mega, but I'm not saying no to a Plesiosaur Digimon. Plesiomon has an x-antibody variant.

Plesiomon

Plesiomon X

What do you get when you combine a cyborg sea serpent and a plesiosaur? Turns out a mechanical submarine dragon. This is Aegisdramon, who was created by the afore-mentioned Crack Team using data from MealSeadramon and Plesiomon. While it was created by malicious hackers, it mostly handles data analysis and will allegedly purify evil. When it does fight, it's an absolute badass who is probably one of the Digital World's ocean's top dogs.

Syakomon was a fairly obscure Digimon until the game Digimon Survive made it a partner and gave it a defined evolution line. Syakomon answers the question of "how do you make a bivalve cute" by giving it a little puppy face. Weirdly enough, Syakomon originally debuted as a ultimate/perfect level before being retconned to be a rookie/child level, which makes more sense. It also has an x-antibody variant that is just atrocious. That's not fanart or concept art down there, that's the quality of the actual official art for it. Bandai paid for that quality.

Syakomon

Syakomon X

Syakomon evolves to Shellmon, which is definitely one of the weirder-looking Digimon; a weird, amorphous pink monster in a turban snail shell. Sound familiar? Yeah, it's pretty similar to Pokemon's Slowbro and Slowking. That's because they're based on the same thing: the sazae-oni, a legendary Japanese sea demon that wears a turban snail shell. Shellmon also has a green recolor called MoriShellmon.

Shellmon evolves to Mermaimon, which I covered in an earlier post. The mega/ultimate level is then MarineAngemon, one of the cutest and friendliest Digimon out there. While most mega/ultimate level Digimon are gigantic combat monsters, MarineAngemon is tiny and very peaceful. It spits heart-shaped bubbles that cause targets to calm down and lose their fighting spirit, meaning it disarms its foes with the power of love. It's based on a sea angel, a type of sea slug popular in Japan.

Another anime-canon line that leads to MarineAngemon comes in the supplemental material for Digimon Tamers. It starts win Penguinmon or Penmon. It's a Digimon penguin, nothing really standout about it, but a solid design. It also has a tropical themed red recolor called Muchomon.

The next stage is Dolphmon or Rukamon. Being a dolphin, it is very intelligent, but its thought processes are completely alien and nobody else really understands it. I think thats an interesting take on dolphin intelligence.

The next evolution is Whamon, a very cool whale digimon. This thing is one of the biggest Digimon out there and so large that only a few computers can fully render it. Absolute unit. and in most appearances, it's been a friendly ally to the heroes. Just an all-around excellent cetacean. In the Tamers universe, Whamon evolves to MarineAngemon, meaning one of the biggest Digimon evolves to one of the smallest. I dig it.

The final default line I'm going to talk about today is the Otamamon line. Otamamon is a half-metamorphosed tadpole that is also a singer. It crawls out onto rocks and practices its singing. While Otamamon prefers col water, it has a warm-water red recolor. It also has an x-antibody variant that is pretty ugly.

Otamamon

Otamamon X

Otamamon evolves to Gekomon, which has an amazing singing voice and a face only a mother could love. They're born from musical data and are some of the greatest musicians in the Digital World but man are they ugly. That tongue gives me the creeps.

Gekomon evolves to ShogunGekomon or TonosamaGekomon, which is where the line ends as they don't have a dedicated mega/ultimate level. It's still really gross to look at and still a great musician that leads choruses of Gekomon. I don't really have much else to say about it.

Now that the dedicated lines are done with (the Jellymon line is in the mermaid post), I'll do more freeform entries in a post coming soon to dashboards near you.

[severr]

i love Pixel Cat’s End so i made a series of instagram stories to recommend it to my friends :D sharing it here in case someone also gets interested 👀 check it out~~~ http://pixelcatsend.com/

by the way, the website is adapted for screen readers! i haven’t tested that personally, but the dev updates suggest that its usability is constantly being improved. so i’m putting ALT text for these under the cut. it’s a lot of text, just a heads up!

(i’m not the developer, i just love the game! :D the official blog is @pixelcatsend. there was some confusion last time i advertized it haha)

First picture:

a screenshot of two cats and a black wolf playing with a bird in snowy woods with text that says:

Pixel Cat's End is a cozy slow-paced virtual pet site.

(my personal opinion is that the internet was created so we can have websites like this. instead of a capitalist hellscape. but i digress)

you create a kitty and start a kitty village on another planet with 4 of your kitty friends

these are two of my starter cats Tywin and Ugolyek :)

Second picture:

a screenshot of an apartment house full of cats with text that says:

you collect cats, dress them up and build their village

(having 3 cats irl is not enough for me apparently, i need a hundred more)

look, kitty wheelchair! (pointing at a cat with mobility aid)

Third picture:

a screenshot of the mines, miner cats and mined resources around it. text says:

the cats go to work and since i am extremely normal about this game, i keep a database with all my cats and their professional qualifications (a picture of the database in a “look at this photograph” meme format)

my village basically has a communist centrally planned economy

coming up with political lore for pixel cats is so funny to me

the kitties yearn for the mines

Fourth picture:

text says:

once i wrote a whole fanfic at like 2 AM when i was sending my friend crafting materials they asked for

a screenshot of a message i sent on the website with attached building materials:

Gift from Yuno to MuckFae

Yuno - Rivna, Vilna, Anarchia and Communa were wandering in the forest on one of their little adventures and stumbled onto Wish. the Rats invited it to join them and they spent a day full of fun, showing each other their favorite parts of the forest.

as they were walking back they realized that Wish celebrated its birthday tomorrow, on the same day as Rivna and Vilna! the Rat girls immediately started planning a huge birthday party at the Gray House for the youth of both of their villages. reaching an age where you can start attending school lessons is a huuuge deal after all! however, the Sumrak kitten suddenly got quiet. the Rats asked why it seemed so sad, and upon learning about the lack of educational resources in their village, they were rightfully enraged!

sheepishly, Wish said that they are going to start working some small jobs to gather materials for future kittens of Sumrak to get the opportunity to go to school, like Flick and Sweetie. the Rats were speechless. wow, that's so ****ing sad. they hugged Wish goodbye and hurried back to Sever.

upon returning, the Rats gathered all of the Sever youth and told what they heard. together, they quickly organized a demonstration, shedding light on the plight of their young comrades across the lake. all of the Sever villages chipped in with the materials they had gathered, happy to support the friendly, though at times creepy

**** village. Nezzie was especially touched, bringing all of the paper that he's been saving up for building his circus.

this is only 1/3 of the story

Fifth picture:

text says:

there are silly scenarios where the cats can interact, become friends, enemies, lovers

how cute is this friendship origin story?!

and screenshot from the website:

Grove is curled up under a bush and growls whenever anyone attempts to approach.

Chosen action: Lucius protects the bush to make sure nobody bothers Grove.

Lucius keeps all nosy cats out of the area so that Grove can get some peace and quiet. Grove appreciates it, and eventually slinks out of his bush to go back to work.

Question: Grove and Lucius would like to be friends. Would you like to approve this relationship?

Sixth picture:

a screenshot of a nursery room with piles of blankets and pillows and two small kittens lying there. text says:

the cats can have kittens (or adopt), there's a whole complex genetics system if you're into that sort of thing.

(but you don't need to understand it to have fun)

these two guys were just born

Seventh picture:

text says: the cats also go on TTRPG-style adventures

screenshots from the website with the adventuring system. second one shows the playing field, first one shows four cats surrounded by wolves and text:

You are being hunted...

The sounds of paws racing through the woods surround the four adventurers, and soon a trio of forest hounds emerges from behind the cliffs.

Eighth picture:

a screenshot of my first cat’s house that is full of rabbits. my kitty has a genderqueer flag scarf! text says:

there are some more cool things i haven't mentioned and the game is still in development!

there's now an event to celebrate the end of the beta stage so join if it sounds like something you might like-

i gladly volunteer to answer questions and help out. let's become friends in the game!

[gotchi-blog]

Sumikko Friend Review

This will be a long one. I never really thought that I will own any virtual pet that isn't Tamagotchi. But then I saw Sumikko Friend and I couldn't stop thinking about it for months, until I got a chance to buy it. It was pricey, true, but after having it for a while I can say - it's worth it.

General score: 9/10

Design

First off, I really love the design. The toy is of similar size as a colour-screen Tamagotchi, but it's way lighter. The back is flat - you can rest the device comfortably on a table or other surface, however most of the interactions use the motion sensor, so get ready to hold your new buddy a lot. It ever has little leg-like bumps to avoid scratching the back.

The screen is the same size as Tamagotchi's, but it differs when it comes to the display. Sumikko screen is way softer, with pastel colours. Very nice to look at, especially if you're a fan of pastel aesthetics. However, it's a pain to take a good photo of it - the contrast is too low to make the details of the background as well-visible as in real life. It's a shame. I want people to see how pretty the rooms and animations are! Especially since some of the wallpapers for the rooms are animated, something I've never seen in Tamagotchi.

The brightness settings are alright. The sound is a bit worse - the device is quite loud even at the lowest setting. And it makes a lot of sounds - games, animations, Friend Mode. There is always some squeaking to be done. Fortunately, the sounds are all very pleasant, so it's actually a very nice experience. Just remember to mute it in public. Another trick is to simply cover the speaker at the back with your finger - that's not really possible with Tamagotchi, where the speakers are more hidden.

The device comes with 2 covers - Tokage and Shirokuma. I will elaborate on their functions later on. Here I just want to say that they are so pretty. The designs are simple and very cute. Especially the Shirokuma cover gets me - the little ears are just adorable. The plastic used is solid, matte and smooth, very pleasant to touch.

Finally, there are 2 physical buttons and one touch one, hidden at the top of the device. The left button is used to choose, the right one to confirm, and the touch button on top is the cancel one. The buttons are responsive and nice to touch. The touch one is very sensitive and works very well.

2. Basic idea behind the device

Sumikko Friend is my first non-Tamagotchi virtual pet, so I had to adjust to a different gameplay. The most important difference is that your characters don't evolve nor grow up. You have 2 pets in this model: Tokage (a blue water dragon who pretends to be a lizard) and Shirokuma (a polar bear who moved south due to disliking cold climate.) They don't change - the goal of taking care of them is to become good friends. They don't grow old nor leave. The true fun is playing and interacting with the characters. There are a few levels of friendship and they are increased by playing, feeding and petting Tokage and Shirokuma.

Another important goal is to collect pictures of Sumikko characters, foods and toys. It's done through using traps - there are quite a lot of them. You can either buy them or get them through Outing (another feature I will elaborate on later while talking about the main menu.) This part of the gameplay is cute, though not the most engaging. I often forget about it, but once I remember, I have to admit - the Sumikko illustrations are very cute.

So yeah, your buddies won't die if you mistreat them. They might run away, though. Still, getting them back is not difficult. Generally, Sumikko Friend is not that demanding when it comes to attention it needs.

3. Sumikko Rooms and Basic Care

Here you have an overview of the menu. We'll start with the Sumikko Rooms.

There are 2 of them - Tokage's and Shirokuma's. The characters sit, sleep and play there. You can toggle between them with the left button. The right one opens the care menu. Here you can feed, play the games that use the covers, clean the room, use the shower, check the stats and go Outing. You can also give toys to your pets and change the room wallpaper/furniture.

What's important about feeding is that both characters have their favourite/disliked foods. The favourite foods will fill up the hunger meter faster, while the disliked foods will get rejected and not eaten. You can check which items are liked/disliked by each character online (I highly recommend checking out the English translation of the manual made by Fuzzy N Chic - it includes the foods and care tips too.)

Showering and cleaning the room is needed more often if you play the games a lot. Especially the room dusting is important - if you don't do it often enough, the dust will block your screen and make it impossible to play until you clean it.

Remodel allows you to change the wallpaper and the furniture in the left corner of the screen. Some of the wallpapers are unlocked through increasing the friendship meter, some are obtained through Outing. The furniture can be either bought in the Sumikko Market or obtained through Outing as well. The wallpapers are usually animated - it's a beautiful detail. The moving swing or a tree rustling in the wind are very cute.

The toys unlock new idle animations. They are adorable - I especially love the doll house and knitting ones. While knitting, the characters take a break to stare at you, which feels like a real interaction that happen when your pet realises that you're watching them play. Very sweet.

Outing is a very interesting feature. While using it, the screen shows a map. When you walk around with the Sumikko device in your pocket/backpack, the little pin on the map moves around. In the top left corner, you see the counter of the circles walked around the map. The device actually reacts to shaking, so if you want to, you can simulate taking walks by shaking it (lazy!) In the Outing mode, the characters collect food, toys, furniture and traps for catching Sumikko.

The Friend Games: there are 5 games. They are quite simple and fun. 4 of them use the movement sensor, which makes them more interactive.

Imitating Freeze: the character makes a sequence of dance moves. Your task is to repeat them but tilting the device in the right directions

Look this way: very similar to the first one, but quicker and without the sequence part. The character's face moves in a direction. Your job is to tilt the device in the same direction

Frilly Dancing: this one will make your hand hurt. Shake the poor creature up and down as fast as you can. The goal is to set a new record when it comes to the number of shakes in the given game time

Minikko Hide & Seek: the bean-shaped thing will hide in your room. Your task is to find it. Do it by tilting the device left or right. The ringing sound will become faster once you approach the bean. When you find it, the Sumikko will have a happy face. Touch the top of the cover to end the game

Smile Stop: the only game that doesn't use the motion sensor. Stop the changing Sumikko faces on a happy or neutral one. Do it by touching the top of the cover. Pro tip: the happiest face always comes after the frowned one. Once you see the frown, get ready to click

Finally, the Friend Check option is just to check the stats. It shows you the Friend level and hunger. I was slightly surprised that the stats are the last option. On the other hand, you don't really need to check what's going on - the characters will let you know what's wrong through animations.

The Sumikko wake up at 6 am and fall asleep at 8 pm. Good for students, not that good for lazy cucks who have nothing better to do. Well, the toy is meant for a younger audience, so I can't blame them. Still, I'd prefer if they went to sleep a bit later.

4. Traps

The next option in the main menu is the Sumikko catching. To start, you need some traps. The metal claw is free and unlimited, but the rest you need to either buy at the market or get from Outing. There are a few methods of using the traps - that depends on what's displayed on the screen. Sometimes you need to tilt the device, sometimes click a button. Just pay attention to the animation on the screen.

As I've mentioned in the second segment, the point of this feature is to obtain cute Sumikko illustrations. There isn't anything more to it, but it's still nice.

Sometimes, you will randomly get a chance to draw a special price, usually a food item or another trap. Also, sometimes a wild Sumikko or Minikko appears and you can catch them for free.

5. Settings

Quite self-explanatory. Here you can set the date, time, your birthday, brightness, sound, use the secret passwords and reset the device.

The remarkable thing are the secret codes. They aren't numeric, like in Tamagotchi, but consist of a few shapes that you need to arrange in the correct order. It's hard to find them, especially since the device is quite unknown in western countries, but I found this website that has some:

Also, the Fuzzy N Chic review video on YT includes the code from a gift card that was attacked to some sets. Unfortunately, I didn't get one in mine.

6. Sumikko Market

Here you can buy food, toys, furniture and traps. You'll be here quite often - Tokage and Shirokuma eat a lot. The prices are fine, so don't worry too much about that even if you don't play games too often.

The toy and furniture offer is small, since most of it is obtained through Outing.

7. Game centre

As you can easily guess, here you can find gamest. None of them demands the covers, so they are pretty comfortable and quick. I will quickly go over them here. Each game has 2 modes - easy and hard. The "hard" mode isn't really that hard, but it gives you more Sumikko coins, so usually I go with it. Interesting thing - you can play the games even once the Sumikko are asleep, Good for insomniacs, I suppose.

Shirokuma's Apple Harvest: tilt the device left and right to catch all the apples. Avoid acorns - they hurt Shirokuma and slow it down

Penguin's? Long Distance Run: tilt the device to make Penguin? run and collect stars. Reach the finish line before the time runs out. Avoid the holes - they make you lose instantly

Neko's Sumikko Eats: tilt the device up and down to avoid the bushes and eat the foods. The cat food gives you more energy than onigiri

Tokage's Gem Collecting: my personal favourite. Tilt the device in different directions to control the fat lizard as it collects the gems in the water. Watch out for the jellyfish - they will hurt and slow you down!

Tonkatsu's Happy Dance: fried bits will come from left and right. Once they are in the circle, click left or right button to throw them off

Sumikko Roulette Fortune: click left or right button to stop the roulette. Various characters give you different points. This game is the easiest but gives very few Sumikko coins

8. Library

Here you can see all the pictures/items you've collected. Each has a short description. Not the most interesting if you don't read Japanese, but they are quite adorable.

9. Friend Mode

When you put on one of the covers, your device goes into the Friend mode. The face of the character is displayed on the screen and you can interact with them. This is necessary to keep them happy throughout the day - nothing will replace physical touch. Pet them, rock them to the sides and press on their hands. They love it, especially the petting.

Pro-tip: rocking won't work unless the Sumikko is already happy. Just pet them with gentle stroked on top of the device, giving them breaks to return to regular face. Once they start blushing after some petting, it means they are happy. Then you can rock them too.

In my experience, Shirokuma is more demanding in care than Tokage - they go hungry at the same time but Shirokuma gets upset faster.

10. Conclusion

Generally, I highly recommend getting Sumikko Friend. It's unique and amazing to play with. You just can't get enough of looking at it. You can get some decent offers on eBay (that's where I got mine.) The gameplay is very different from Tamagotchi, but it's a welcome fresh breeze. I absolutely love it and it made me want to take further look into the Sumikko franchise

🌸

[ridiasfangirlings]

I've been having a series of weird dreams where I'm Saruhiko. Today was no different. In my dream, Saruhiko was computer pet, you know, those that are supposed to help you with computer tasks and that are also Spywares? Yeah, and the one owning the computer was Yata.

Imagine like future AU where there are like all these virtual ‘assistants’ that you can purchase to help you with various tasks, kinda like in Chobits. Yata isn’t very good at computers but he needs one for his part time job so he decides to get an assistant that specializes in computer tasks, since you can just plug the terminal into the computer and you’ll have your own little virtual pet right on your desktop who can do things for you. Most assistants are really expensive though so Yata ends up at this like kinda shady place that was suggested to him by one of his friends, Kusanagi, who runs a bar near Yata’s place and lets Yata do odd jobs for him. Yata gets a little confused by the instructions since he accidentally spilled soda on them though but he thinks he must be in the right place, he did end up at a junk shop after all. The only guy in the shop at the counter isn’t paying attention at all and Yata ends up picking up this little robot penguin. The shop guy doesn’t remember where that one came from but yeah it’s probably good with computers, just give me whatever you think it’s worth. 

So Yata takes home his little penguin robot, he thinks it’s actually kinda cute in a weird way with its nerdy blocky glasses. It came with a cord to charge and another one to connect it to the computer so that’s what Yata does, the penguin opens its eyes and a little virtual person with glasses that match the penguin’s appears on his screen. Yata’s proud that he got it to work and to his surprise the virtual assistant makes a small sound like ‘tch’ and says it wasn’t hard, you just had to plug in a cord. Yata can’t believe his own virtual assistant is talking back to him. When he clicks on the screen a little box saying ‘Fushim1’ opens above the character’s head so Yata figures that must be his name, and he tells Fushimi to help him first with cleaning out this old PC Yata got secondhand. Fushimi makes the ‘tch’ noise again and says Yata must be really useless at computers, if he bought one as bad as this. Fushimi can tell that the whole thing is virus ridden and what kind of idiot buys a computer without checking for malware first. Yata’s all well that’s what I bought you for and Fushimi rolls his eyes as a little broom pops into his hand and he says Yata’s lucky Fushimi finds the code of the virus just interesting enough to play with.

 Fushimi fixes up the computer and Yata’s all impressed, so he did get the coolest virtual assistant after all. Fushimi actually looks almost happy about that, or at least Yata thinks, but it’s hard to tell and anyway were these virtual assistants even supposed to have expressions. Yata assumes this must just be how they are and doesn’t think about it until his friend Kamamoto stops by and hears Yata arguing with his computer, Yata’s like yeah my virtual assistant is kinda hard to deal with. Kamamoto looks confused and says the virtual assistants are supposed to do whatever you ask without question and he’s never heard of one being difficult (or gloomy, or ‘an annoying bastard in glasses,’ as Yata keeps complaining). Yata’s like huh mine isn’t like that at all, he tries asking Fushimi about it but when he does Fushimi’s face suddenly goes blank and he says ‘classified’ in this unnaturally flat voice. Yata wonders if he could go back to the shop and ask but remembers the guy there didn’t recognize the penguin either, he decides to look at the penguin terminal but all he finds is a barcode with ‘Saruhiko’ above it. Maybe after this Fushimi starts glitching a little and Yata’s suddenly worried about losing him, even knowing that this should just be a virtual pet and nothing more, and he decides he needs to find out the truth behind Fushimi’s origin.

[inkedmyths]

Sell me on monster hunter, go

OHHHH YOU'RE GONNA REGRET ASKING THIS ARE YOU READY

Concept is very simple: Kill hig monster before it kills you (hence the name)

Onto the selling points

Monster Design

The monster design is widely regarded as some of the best out there. In a series dedicated to fighting monsters, it has to be, and it doesn't disappoint. It ranges from dinosaurs, to wyverns, to dragons, to things that don't fit into any of these categories! The designs also generally have a basis in some concept of biology, taking notes from real life creatures and using fantasy concepts to create creatures that feel almost believable.

A few monsters found in Rise, for your consideration: Aknosom, Rathalos, Zinogre, and Magnamalo

These are just a sampler, from some of the Early stuff in base Rise. There's quite a few things you can fight, and the DLC features some of my absolute favorite monsters ever: Gore Magala and Malzeno

Gameplay

Rise admittedly works a bit differently from classic MonHun, but the base concepts are still there.

In this game, it's all about hitting the monster and trying not to get hit. You have to memorize attack patterns, dodge them at the right time, figure out where to get the best damage in. You're opponent doesn't have a health bar; rather, you have to try and determine how close you are to winning based on the monster's behavior. It gets slower, shows signs of damage, will often run off to rest when near death.

There's also not a standard player leveling system. Instead, you upgrade your gear, and get better at playing. In order to get new gear, you have to kill monsers, and use their parts to make new weapons and armor. The armor design is also very neat, and occasionally very very silly.

Speaking of weapons, there are 14 different different weapon types, one for everyone. I prefer the fast paced and acrobatic Dual Blades, while my mom prefers the heavy hitting and complex Charge Blade. Theres simple, theres complicated, there's close combat, and ranged. Whatever floats your boat!

Rise's special mechanic that sets it apart is Wirebugs. Think of them as a gear piece that lets you grapple hook in midair, and perform all kinds of fancy moves. They take some getting used to, but once you master them, you'll be virtually unstoppable.

Pets

One of Monster Hunter's longtime traditions are Palicoes! They are little cat friends that help you fight in combat, and can also act as support. Very cute and useful.

Rise is also the first game to introduce Palamutes! If you're more of a dog person, congrats, you can have a dog that will help you in combat. They have different uses than Palicoes, so mix and match as needed

Music

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST UNDERRATED PARTS OF THE SERIES I SWEAR

I could talk about about the soundtrack for days and days. Some tracks are better than others, of course, but they're generally very good at creating a good atmosphere

For your perusal:

Proof of a Hero, the Main Theme of the series. Often played in the final phase of major boss fights (The version I have linked is the original, and doesn't actually play in Rise. Rise has it's own version, as does the DLC, Sunbreak, which has my favorite version)

Spark of Blue, Zinogre's theme (a personal favorite)

Barbarous Beast, Magnamalo's Theme

Brilliance Eclipsed, Gore Magala's Theme

Scarlet Feast, Malzeno's Theme

The soundtrack is really fun, and Rise puts a fun twist on several tracks

Co-Op Play

You can play alone, but it's really fun to play with friends. Nothing like watching your buddy get smacked across the map and dying. Up to four friends can play together, and you can tackle everything in the game alongside them

Okay I have to pay attention to stream now but this is my sales pitch hope you enjoyed

[tomorrowxtogether]

HUENINGKAI: “Once I like something, I end up liking it for a long time”

TOMORROW X TOGETHER The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION comeback interview

2023.02.08

HUENINGKAI listened closely to each question with his hands neatly folded as if in prayer. He would always nod along as he listened to them, waiting for the very last word to finish before answering. He knows he must wait so that he can fully absorb everything. HUENINGKAI has always waited like this, and he’s waiting now as well—for the roots to take hold, firmer and deeper.

Did you enjoy the photoshoot?

HUENINGKAI: I like Weverse Magazine because it feels new and fresh every time we shoot. Like last time—we were all connected through hands. I liked how this time it captured Neverland in all its dreaminess.

It’s winter, your favorite season. What have you been doing this winter?

HUENINGKAI: I spent Christmas and New Year’s with my family, which was great. I made mini cakes with my sisters. I ate tteokguk on New Year’s, so I’m a year older now. (laughs) I usually get up around seven or eight and go for a morning jog. I like the morning winter air and I don’t really feel the cold. I’m a morning person, so I usually wash up as soon as I get in and sleep, even if work runs late.

You did a Weverse Live with the other members to mark the holidays. You gave a pet rock as your Secret Santa gift, right?

HUENINGKAI: I chose that because I have a pet rock already and wanted another of the members to raise one with me, and then I got BEOMGYU. My pet rock was originally a gift, too. They’re cuter than you think—you can draw a face on them. I’m still raising it—Lionel Mbappé. It’s doing a shoot for a moment so it’s going to be a star soon. (laughs)

It sounds like you did a lot of small but fun things. (laughs) You must have been really busy getting ready for the year-end awards ceremonies.

HUENINGKAI: There was supposed to be a vacation in between, but we all turned it down and practiced the choreography instead. We really wanted to do a good job, so we tried to bump up how often we practiced. You’re always going to feel nervous when you get on stage if you haven’t practiced enough. It makes you anxious. We decided to practice more because we wanted to feel relaxed when we got up on stage. We put on a high-quality performance so I was satisfied with the result. I think it’s particularly amazing that the dance break we did at MMA [Melon Music Awards] managed to contain our whole storyline in just five minutes.

The beginnings of The Name Chapter were at MMA.HUENINGKAI: I really think this new album is our conceptual peak. It brings up the subject of Neverland, so it makes connections to Peter Pan, too. I feel like Neverland would be like the Nightmare version of the concept photos: It seems like a good place at first, but then you realize there’s something ominous about it. It’s like a video game: I like games, and when I have fun playing and hanging out with other people in the game world, I feel like I want to stay there. But it’s a virtual world and it’s not real. There’s stuff to do in the real world, so I’ll enjoy what I can then come back and focus on my work. I felt really happy while shooting the Nightmare version, actually. I liked lying down on the nice, soft floor with all those cute stuffed animals around me. (laughs) How did you interpret the message behind that concept?HUENINGKAI: It’s about deciding to get out and escape from Neverland even in the face of temptation from the devil. The story about that temptation starts with “Devil by the Window.” It’s like saying, Let’s walk down our own path—I mean, I think that’s how we grow up in the end. Even though you’re an adult on the surface, sometimes you’re still tempted to go back to your childhood. Sometimes when I’m up against a wall I think about how I want to return to a time when I just had fun, went home for food and studied. But I’m the kind of person where, if something bad happens, I might hold a little grudge for the day, but I sleep it off and then I’m perfectly fine. (laughs) The other members say that’s something good about me, which I think is a good personality trait for an idol to have. (laughs) What did you do to try and express being tempted in “Devil by the Window”?HUENINGKAI: I tried to sing it as breathily as possible to give it the feeling of the devil whispering. To compare to another artist: Billie Eilish. I have so much fun dancing to it because the song and dance feel like a perfect fit for the concept. I’m currently trying to make facial expressions I’ve never made before. I’ll try to stare at MOA with a mellow look when we’re on stage. The idea of temptation continues into “Sugar Rush Ride.”HUENINGKAI: It wasn’t easy to capture that at first. It’s also about temptation, but it has a different quality from “Devil by the Window,” so I tried not to be too breathy and sing with a little bit of power behind it. And it’s hard to stay in sync for that dance because it just flows with no real clear points of emphasis. So I have a lot of concerns but I’m going to make it work somehow. I don’t think anything would make me happier than putting on a perfect performance of that song.

Is wanting to grow musically another part of wanting to prove yourselves as a group? You set a goal for yourself again this year to increase how much of the music and lyrics you write.HUENINGKAI: I think I’ll still be wanting to increase my proportion after 10 or 20 years even. I don’t have a lot of time to work on it, obviously, but since we’re the ones singing and dancing, I always figure it would be nice if we could have more of our own words on the albums. You couldn’t achieve all your goals for last year, but you got the most important one done: seeing MOA.HUENINGKAI: The pandemic kept us apart for way too long. We should have been able to come around sooner and I thought it was amazing they somehow managed to hold out for three whole years. I felt really regretful and sorry. It’s really important for us to see MOA and get that energy from them, too. It wasn’t until we saw them that I truly felt like I’m a real singer. You said in another interview with Weverse Magazine back in 2020 that when you finally met them, you wanted to yell out the group greeting at the top of your lungs, dance like never before and sing “Sweat” as the encore.HUENINGKAI: Nailed it! I guess everything worked out, then. For me, the encores were the most memorable part of the concerts. I was running out of energy at that point but that part was so exciting and fun, and we could see MOA right up close and personal. I actually remember being clearly exhausted by the end of the performance at the beginning of the tour, but after doing it awhile, I got used to it. It’s like how cardio is so hard at first but after you build up your strength you can go faster and run more. It’s the same sort of thing on stage. Being that energetic and then doing “Sweat,” which is the real final song, it’s always just touching. MOA always has something prepared, too, so it’s new every time. You sang “Our Summer” as an additional encore in Manila, the last stop on the tour.HUENINGKAI: It was a pity to tour in the summer and not have “Our Summer” on the set list so it was a spontaneous final gift. (laughs) The tour allowed me to experience all kinds of things and improve myself by another step. We’re touring again in the spring. We tried to go back out as soon as possible, just like we promised! We’re going back out so soon because of how much we want to see MOA. There’s an amazing set list waiting, so look out for that. How has your relationship with MOA changed over time?HUENINGKAI: I think we actually became closer during the pandemic. It made us miss each other even more. My self-esteem improved during the tour thanks to MOA and I was so excited and grateful to see them every time. Well, duh! I’m happiest when I’m on stage and dancing for MOA. (laughs)

What else makes you happy these days, whether big or small?HUENINGKAI: Yogurt ice cream? These days it’s when I eat ice cream late at night or something else sweet at night. I’m happiest when I’m having dessert. Forget meals—I’m on Team Dessert. (laughs) That reminds me of when you said, “I live life feeling satisfied every day. Every day’s five out of five, and if I feel a little let down, it’s just a little lower.”HUENINGKAI: When I feel a little down, all I have to do is eat something sweet and I’m back in business! I’m usually okay after sleeping even if I had a rough day, so it’s not hard to have five-point days. Zen—like, no thoughts, head empty, as much as I can, calmly and with positivity. (laughs) Do hoodies, stuffed animals and anime still make you as happy as before?HUENINGKAI: Of course. Those are still my favorite things in life and nothing about that has changed. What’s your secret for holding onto that feeling so long?HUENINGKAI: I think it’s just in my nature. Once I like something, I end up liking it for a long time. My feelings don’t wane that easily. I guess you could say my love toward them is great from the start. Has there ever been a time you ended up liking something later despite your first impressions?HUENINGKAI: As far as music goes, I’d say “Good Boy Gone Bad.” I like every track off our albums but I think having a good lead single every time is our specialty. To be honest, when I first heard “Good Boy Gone Bad,” I felt like something was different suddenly and it wasn’t my style, so I had a hard time accepting it. But after we did it on stage, it felt exciting and I had fun with it. I warmed up to it when I realized people who like it would probably really like it.

When it comes to TOMORROW X TOGETHER, you can transcend your own tastes. Where does your affection towards the group come from?HUENINGKAI: The other members, of course. If we go on stage feeling resolved beforehand, I can really feel the difference in the performance. It makes me feel really enthusiastic when we yell, “Fighting!” together and go out there. They’re passionate and ambitious people and I think doing it with them makes me ready to keep moving forward and take on the challenge. You can’t really climb up higher and higher if you keep running away. I think being an idol means having to put up with things to some degree and I think it’s important for me to be active. When TAEHYUN said, “We chose to do this job, so we have to try and reach the very top no matter what, don’t you think?” I thought, Wow, he’s absolutely right. We have to keep going until the end. You mentioned that TAEHYUN’s had an influence on your MBTI changing from ENFP to ISTP.HUENINGKAI: I hear about what he’s thinking a lot since we’re roommates, so I think I naturally came to understand him. That must be how we both ended up as Ts. (laughs) There’s times when it’s good to look at things rationally and I used to be an F so I think my strong point is that I can understand both sides. It’s pretty amazing how I completely changed from ENFP. I was really emotional even as recently as when I was a trainee. I even cried a lot back then but I’ve become a little more rational since debuting. What caused your personality to change?HUENINGKAI: I think being so busy during my trainee years and after the debut slowly dulled my capacity to express my emotions. I thought about going home in the early days of trainee life because it was so hard sometimes, but after a few years I learned to just accept it. So sometimes I feel bad lately when I’m having a hard time and I say that to the other members. We’re all working together and all have hard times and I don’t want to pass my troubles on to them. When you said that, “as the youngest member, I want to be a reassuring presence” for the others, was that born out of the same feeling?HUENINGKAI: I wasn’t grown up yet when I was a trainee and I was so childish (laughs) so I don’t think I really earned much trust from the other members. Even after we debuted, I still thought about how I wanted to gain their trust. But now that we’ve been living under the same roof together, we’re just like family. I’ve been waking up to YEONJUN’s face right in front of mine ever since we were trainees. (laughs) Now, even if one of us feels like giving up, the other four can keep things moving along and help each other out. You always emphasize how important it is that you achieve things together.HUENINGKAI: We’re a team and it’s important that we’re all doing a good job together. That’s how we show the real TOMORROW X TOGETHER. If even one of us isn’t giving it their all, it isn’t TOMORROW X TOGETHER, I don’t think. I also picture us in the future together, reaching the top the way the BTS members have. And I hope our members will be happy after that. Honestly, I think their happiness is top priority. I just want them to be happy because I know how hard they work.

On Weverse Live, TAEHYUN said, “Do you want to plant a tree in the spring?” You replied, “I think I’ll be a little sad whenever the tree grows. If 20 years passes and I see the tree grew, I think I’d feel so proud. Proud, yet sentimental.” What made you feel that way?

HUENINGKAI: I think because I would feel time passing by. I feel like I’m still a fairly new artist, and if I saw that tree growing, I’d think, Wow, it’s already been that long. Time really flies.

You said you were sad when Ash became the Pokémon champion, too.

HUENINGKAI: I was already showing my true colors when I was little (laughs) and I liked the anime ever since I was a kid so it made me sad to hear someone I spent so much time with would be retiring. I looked it up and Ash and Conan are the two longest-running main characters. While the main character kept changing in other shows, Pokémon’s always been Ash. In the context of the story, the fate of everyone who becomes champion is they end up retiring somehow. I already knew it was going to end that way, but it’s still really sad. It’s just like it would feel looking at a tree if we planted it—sentimental and moving.

At least Ash must be happy. (laughs)

HUENINGKAI: Because he became the very best. Now we can reach the top, just like Ash did.

[megansfavourites]

My review of the Cute Pet Paradise virtual pet (also commonly called the “Tamagezi” by fans)

This toy is commonly known as the “Tamagezi” by fans, but did you know that it has an official Chinese name, which is 萌宠乐园 (or “Cute Pet Paradise”)? In fact, I would like to promote calling this the “Cute Pet Paradise”, because “Tamagezi” (拓麻歌子) is just the Chinese transliteration of “Tamagotchi”. I think the reason many fans call this the “Tamagezi” is because the Chinese sites that sell this call it the “Local-made Tamagotchi” (国产拓麻歌子). However, you won’t be able to specifically find this on AliExpress/Taobao if you search for 拓麻歌子, and will end up with plenty of results of goods related to Bandai’s Tamagotchi instead. You can find it, however, if you use the keyword “方糖萌宠乐园” (with 方糖 being the name of the developer) on AliExpress.

Anyway, on to my review. Overall, I think the Cute Pet Paradise’s programming is really awful for a couple of reasons that I’ll cover below.

So, starting with some basic functions: you get to pick from 3 eggs at the start (but I don’t think the colour matters), and you can get either a boy or a girl. There’s only one evolution path for each gender, but you can dress them up in different costumes once they become a teen or adult. The evolution period is really long, taking about a week for each stage (there are 4 in total, which are baby, kid, teen and adult). You can feed your pet, bring your pet to a restaurant to eat, plant crops in the garden which are ready for harvest after an hour and you can sell off for money (which will be one of your main sources of income), play games in the arcade, take your pet to the amusement park to increase their Heart stat when it’s low, take your pet to the toilet, vacuum the house or clean the bathroom, unclog the toilet when it’s clogged (but would need to buy the respective equipment), buy food and toys from the shop, buy clothes when your pet is a teen or adult, buy property when your pet is minimally a kid, buy vehicles anytime (even if your pet is still a baby), go to school, go to work when your pet is minimally a kid, visit a park, and use items in your treasure chest.

The eating animation cannot be skipped, which I thought was one of the worst parts of the toy. Each food item affects your pet’s stats differently, and according to the mini guidebook that comes with the toy, the rice bowl fills up your pet’s hunger stat the most, so I usually spam the rice bowl one by one, having to sit through the animation each time. Sometimes, you get a little envelope icon to the left of your pet informing you that everything at the Western restaurant will be free for a set number of minutes. I usually send my pet to the restaurant when that event happens.

The minigames’ payout rates are absolutely awful, and you can’t count on them as a good source of income. There are like 2 gambling games and I guess one of them can pay out well if you make big bets, but is also risky. The best way to make money in this game is by growing and selling crops, buying property and sending your pet to work. By the way, the crops all give the same amount of profit. I planted only the most expensive crop at first because I thought that the more expensive the crop was, the more you would earn, but actually the profit is the same regardless of what you grow if you deduct the expenditure amount of each crop from the revenue. Thus I started to just plant the cheapest apples every single time. Also, I recommend buying property as soon as your pet is old enough and as soon as you have enough money, because you will start to earn money every day just by owning the property.

You can visit a park, where you either get to talk to a random character, clean up the park, obtain a random puzzle piece, or play with either a cat or dog (well, at least, they vaguely look like a cat or dog). There are 4 puzzles that you can complete in total, and completing each puzzle gets you some money (I think it was 10,000 GP if I remember correctly). But here’s where the awful programming comes in: it’s possible to get a puzzle piece that you already have, even if the puzzle is already completed. And as for the cat and dog, your pet will invite the cat or dog back to its house if you meet it for the third time, but they didn’t even program any checks on whether or not you already have a pet, so you can still meet the same cat or dog in the park even after you already have the cat or dog at home. If you already have a cat and you meet the dog 3 times, the dog replaces the cat (the game doesn’t even ask if you want to bring the pet home, the pet just goes home with you).

Also, I realised that based on the way the toy is programmed, the game’s time doesn’t actually proceed until you wake it up with a button. I figured it out based on the way the toy doesn’t call for attention. It seems like it’s programmed to reduce a set number of stat points depending on how much time had passed between the time the toy went into sleep mode and when it has been woken up. It then calculates whether or not to generate a poop or to show squiggly lines besides your pet depending on how much of the hunger stat has gone down. If it reaches a negative number in certain stats, your pet will be shown with an illness skull or with a dying icon above its head. I find that it will generally generate the dying icon if left unattended for about 8-10 hours, and if left longer than that, you will see your pet leaving you upon waking up the toy with a button. If your pet leaves you due to neglect, you have to reset the device and start all over again, meaning you lose all progress including money, items, and everything else. I thought this was the dumbest thing about the toy because you can get a new egg and keep your progress in the official Tamagotchi series. I had to restart like 5 times already just because I left the toy alone for more than 10 hours.

Another reason why I say that the programming is bad is because the A, B and C buttons will always make a sound when pressed, even if the sound shouldn’t be playing in that scenario (eg. they should disable button sounds from being made if they are not supposed to respond while in the middle of an eating animation etc, but they don’t).

The toy also determines certain events that will randomly happen each time you wake up the device based on how much time has passed, giving you the “You haven’t been to school in a long time” notice or the “The toilet is clogged” notice randomly. The funny thing is that it counts even sleeping time, so you could let you pet go to bed at night and then get a message the next morning saying that your pet hasn’t been to school in a long time. The guidebook that comes with the toy claims that the stats doesn’t go down when sleeping, but I’m not sure how true that is, because I usually have to fill up my pet’s stats every time I get up in the morning. Also, not unclogging the toilet doesn’t seem to affect usage of the toilet in any way, so I usually don’t bother unclogging it even when I get the notice that the toilet is clogged. You can clean the house with a vacuum cleaner and you can get your pet to take a bath, but unlike in the Tamagotchi series, neither your pet nor your room ever gets dirty, so you don’t really have a need to clean the house or give your pet a bath.

For the school feature, the guidebook says that each class lasts 3 mins, but your pet doesn’t go back automatically on the toy, and you have to manually leave the school, even when it’s your pet’s bedtime. The guidebook also says you need to attend school twice a day. However, if I remember correctly, your pet is able to go home automatically after work after a certain number of hours.

The toy animations are all very short and are simple animations that totally have zero effort put into making them. Most of the toys just show a short animation of the toy being animated in some way and your pet reacting to it, like how the toy cat’s animation just shows the cat scratching with its paw a little and your pet smiling at it. The toy rose also just shows a short glowing animation and have your pet smiling at it. Also, all the toys are one-use for some weird reason.

If you buy a vehicle, the vehicle will replace your pet’s walking animation when they go out, and you can swap out vehicles anytime from your treasure chest.

Overall, the toy was kind of entertaining at first for me, but it got kind of boring and tedious over time, considering that I have to feed the pet food one by one with an unskippable animation, and I need to fill up their Heart meter by bringing them to the amusement park and letting them play on the rides, again with unskippable animations. Furthermore, the fact that your pet can die so easily and the fact that all progress is erased if your pet dies/runs away, makes gameplay very frustrating. As of now, I still haven’t gotten a single pet to the adult stage yet, only to the teen stage at the most, just one time. Also, I thought that if they hadn’t stolen Bandai’s icons for their menu, this would actually make for a pretty decent original virtual pet device. Thought it was funny the way everything but the menu icons were original graphics. The poor programming is a negative aspect too, but I guess you can’t expect that much from such a cheap virtual pet toy, which wouldn’t have gone through as much playtesting and debugging as the official Tamagotchi toys. While a lot of fans treat the Cute Pet Paradise as a bootleg Tamagotchi, to me I see it more of as an original virtual pet toy (compared to toys like the QPet, which is an outright clone of the Plus Color) if not for the fact that they completely lifted Bandai’s menu icons and the GP symbol.